Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings
by Eternalscibe41
Summary: After defeating Lord Voldemort, Harry is left without a purpose, but thanks to the Room Of Requirement, is send to Middle Earth. Befriending Aragorn and travelling with him for 60 years, Harry joins the fellowship of the Ring. Hiatus! Aragorn/Arwen
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I am not J.R.R. Tolkien or J.K. Rowling and as such, do not own Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings, obviously seeing as how the website is called and so that is the logical conclusion.

Chapter 1

In a medieval fortress, hundreds of young schoolchildren were celebrating, alongside the few remaining aurors and members of the Order of the Phoenix, one man simply wandered the corridors and did not join the festivities. That man was Harry Potter.

He had turned 19 just over three months ago, and one hour previously had defeated the Dark Lord Voldemort, the man, well thing, that had basically destroyed his life but despite having more reason than ever to be happy, was not. He had just defeated the man who killed his parents, the man whose fault it was that Harry's childhood involved dark cupboards, vicious beatings and meagre rationings of food. At this Harry snorted, one good thing had come out of his childhood, his near limitless pain threshold which had allowed him to fight through the cruciatus, a vital aid in the war against the death eaters.

At the age of 11, the Dark Lord had attempted and managed to infilitrate Hogwarts through the possession of a weak-minded wizard and then tried to steal the Philosophers stone to regain a body. Harry and his two friends, Ron and Hermione, had tried to warn the teachers, but because they wouldn't listen, had been forced to take matters into their own hands, and had followed Voldemort (and his host Quirrel) and passed the obstacles defending the stone which had incapacitated Ron and forced Hermione to turn back, before Harry managed to drive Voldemort off, killing Quirrel in the process.

At 12, he had defeated a basilisk which had been petrifying students. The basilisk being a creature most grown men would shirk away from. At 13, he had driven off 100 dementors with a single patronus, a tremendous feat and one Harry was rightly proud of. At 14, he was entered into the Tri-wizard tournament, and although he was given help from a teacher (who was actually a death eater), he was quite proud of his victory against witches and wizards who had three more years training than him. His performance against Voldemort in the graveyard afterwards, however, left something to be desired and he only just managed to escape after suffering a beating. The ministry had dismissed his claims of Voldemort returning as the "delusion rants of an attention seeking boy", and organised a smear campaign against him and gave the school a pathetic teacher who bore remarkable resemblence to toads. Said teacher would have stuggled to teach fish how to swim, never mind wizards how to defend themselves. Due to peer pressure, he decided to lead an illegal group to teach his friends and a few others defense. Obviously, he suceeded as he, with 5 others that he taught, were able to hold off a dozen deatheaters, which, even if they weren't aiming to kill, was a brillant achievement. The Order of the Phoenix had arrived, and his godfather, Sirius, had died. When he returned to Hogwarts with Professor Dumbledore, he had been shown a prophecy, saying that he had to kill Voldemort, or Voldemort had to kill him. Remembering his battle, if it could be called that, against Voldemort the previous year, Harry had asked to be taught by Dumbledore and he had been.

For three years, Harry did not leave Hogwarts, he had simply been taught to fight and kill, his isolation from everyone else but his teachers giving him incredible motivation to train until he had been deemed ready and unleashed. He had launched raids on known deatheaters homes, breaking their wards and capturing those inside for questioning, whoever resisted were defeated. He had fought Voldemort three times in the last year, each time managing a draw. Then Voldemort had attacked Diagon Alley with the remnants of his death eaters, alongside various dark creatures that had joined with him, dementors, vampires, werewolves and giants. After a long, drawn out battle, Voldemort and Harry finally came face-to-face. After the mandatory verbal battle, the first spell was thrown and what became known as the greatest fight in known history began. This time, both knew the prophecy would be fulfilled, and as it turned out, Harry won the battle and promptly collapsed. He regained consciousness 2 hours ago in Hogwarts Hosital Wing and managed to sneak out without Pomphrey realising, and was now wandering the corridors of Hogwarts, trying to decide what to do in life, now that he had avenged his parents.

An auror was out of the question, they had to follow rules, and being a hit-wizard was out because of the high probability of death (Harry was many things, but not suicidal). Duelists were also forced to follow rules and weren't supposed to harm their opponents that much. Quidditch was a possibility but he would have to sign autographs. "It was amazing," he remarked to himself, "The very bane of his existance was actually his purpose in life."

As he wandered, he came across the room of requirement, and decided to enter while pondering what to do. He entered and was promptly thrown into the middle of a battle between three men and scores of creature that appeared to be some form of goblin (later he found out they were goblins, at least of this world). Thinking that the three men would be more likely to help him find out where he was, he began to cast spells at the goblins, killing many and driving the others away. He turned back to the three men he had saved, before realising two appeared to be some sort of elf, although they happened to be above 4 feet. Before he could make a witty remark as to their heritage, the man thanked him. Before he knew it, the three were dragging him back to their home, Rivendell. After a couple of days, spent mostly talking to Elrond ( Lord of Rivendell), Aragorn, Elladan and Elrohir (the three he saved, with Aragorn being the man), he came to the conclusion he was in another world. He learnt Aragorn was the heir to an ancient throne, and had been hidden away for his protection. Hoping that Aragorn would have an interesting life, the two set out together into the world, armed with a bow and arrows, a sword each, and Harry's wand.

The following years were eventful, to say the least. He became a friend of Gandalf (who had said it was likely this was not his world but it is possible that it was simply a different time), and alongside Aragorn had helped fight Sauron (the resident dark lord, who seemed much more powerful than Voldemort and not someone Harry wanted to meet). Aragorn taught him sword play and archery at night, and during the day, how to survive in the wilderness. Something he quickly realised, magic was mostly a long range weapon, which honestly wasn't very helpful as most fighting was close combat although he had managed to learn how to use more subtle magic to slow down his enemies while fighting. Also, due to the length of the battles in this world, Harry was forced to conserve his magical strength for key points in fights and so mostly rely on his sword fighting prowess which was formidable.

The two fought in the Rohirrim, earning renown and meeting Thengel, the king of Rohan, fought for Gondor before travelling into the East and South. The two realised that Harry was similar to the Dunédain, ageing at a similar rate to Aragorn, who was but a year older than him. When Harry was 48, the two went to Lothlórion, where Aragorn met Arwen for the second and was completely smitten with her. Obviously, Aragorn decidied to stay in Lothlórion to get to know her better. Realising this, Harry headed back to Rohan slightly envious of Aragorn and also saddened as he and Aragorn were seperated for the first time in nearly 30 years. He spent a year with Eómund, the Marshall of the Mark, becoming good friends and companions as they fought against the orcs, the other Rohirrim who followed them had often remarked that the duo's raids on the orcs seemed suspiciously similar to suicide expeditions, Harry and Eómund always shrugging these comments off. Ironically, Eómund had been killed on one of these raids. After a year, the two left Lothlórion, and spent time travelling, and entered Moria and travelled to Harad, a place they soon left due to the hostility of it's inhabitants making frequent trips to Lothlorien and Rohan to see Arwen and Eómund. At the age of 69, Harry and Aragorn were approached by Gandalf the Grey, a wizard of this world, capable of a different form of magic than Harry but a no less potent form, asked them to track Gollum and guard the shire, eventually they had caught Gollum near Mordor and left him in Mirkwood under the guard of the elves there. Eómund had died when Harry was 70, and Harry had spent a year mourning, trying to cope with his emotions while tracking Gollum. Eventually, Harry had recovered, although not without his mental scars. The elves often said his eyes contained a deep well of sadness, and had lost their spakling attribute. And now, aged 86 and 87, Harry and Aragorn, two of the most fearsome and powerful warriors living with Harry now standing 6 foot tall with broad shoulders and well-defined muscles, glittering gleen eyes, long dark hair and enough scars for several war veterans, and Aragorn similar although slightly taller and leaner, were sitting in a run-down bar in the pathetic town of Bree, hoping that the four hobbits, one of whom carried the ring of Sauron and the only way to give Sauron a new body, didn't mess up and attract attention. Seeing Frodo Baggins turn invisible infront of dozens of Bree folk, they realised it was a foolish hope.

That is the first chapter, edited by myself. Sorry about the lack of details but I really wanted to get to the beginning of the story.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Again not JRR Tolkien or JK Rowling as I am neither dead nor a girl.

Chapter 2

"Damn. Can you do some hocus-pocus trick to see where he is?" said Aragorn.

"Homenum Revelio. I see him. I'll get him, you check outside, see if anyone felt that." replied Harry.

Following the red outline of Frodo's body, he saw him crawl beneath a table and become visible again. Reaching out, he grabbed Frodo's shoulder and pulled him out from under the table and began to drag him towards the stairs. No-one saw him doing this, although that may have been because of the notice-me-not charm he had placed over Frodo.

"What do you want?" asked the frightened hobbit, who appeared to have realised the potential trouble he may have landed himself in.

"For you to shut up. We need to get you out of sight, and hopefully out of mind of everyone here. Considering what you carry, I would assume you would want this as well."

Now the young hobbit was thoroughly confused, here was a man who had moved from his seat on the other side or the room to the exact table he was under while he was invisible, and so could presumably see him while he was wearing the ring, something he thought impossible. He also somehow knew of the burden he carried.

Harry pulled Frodo up the stairs and into the room him and Aragorn had been sharing, moving to the window to put out the candles. He cast his gaze out the window, and seeing Aragorn returning to the Inn, knew the coast was clear.

"From your actions, anyone would think you wanted to be found. Obviously, your wizard friend hasn't told you the need for secrecy, or if he has- you simply didn't listen. Which is it?"

"I was stopping Pippin from telling everyone who I was..."

"Yes, because that worked so well, seeing as he had already told everyone by the time you had moved. It would have been better if you sent one of the other hobbits over with a story of how Pippin couldn't hold his drink." Suddenly, Harry leapt towards the door, drawing a knife as he did so, opened the door and grabbed whoever was there and pulled them in. Remembering Aragorn's alias in Bree, he exclaimed, "Strider ! Are you trying to drive me to an early grave or something? I could have killed you. I thought you were a Nazgul." Recovering slightly from his shock, he asked, "Is anyone out there?"

"Not that I can see, and I don't think anyone saw me come up." Turning, Aragorn shut the door and went over to tell Frodo that they had to leave, while Harry went over to watch outside the window.

Suddenly, the door burst open, and three hobbits burst through, brandishing a chair and a set of candles, only to be met by two men, both wielding swords and presenting an intimidating image, and Frodo sitting in a chair, apparently unharmed. "It's alright, I'm fine. In fact Strider and Harry will be coming with us. For whatever reason Gandalf's not here, and they are friends of Gandalf and will lead us to Rivendell. Hopefully, Gandalf will be there." Apparently, Aragorn had convinced Frodo that they were friends of Gandalf when Harry wasn't listening.

"You don't think anyone saw you coming upstairs then." Harry remarked. Aragorn smiled sheepishly in response before a silence fell upon the group.

Harry's voice broke the silence, "Strider. The Nazgul will have felt the ring being used. They will know the ring is here, in Bree. And we aren't stupid enough not to think someone will tell them of these four hobbits who come from the shire and are now staying in the Prancing Pony. I'm sure they'll also mention our little friends disappearing act downstairs."

Strider's only visible reaction was a slight widening of his eyes showing he had forgotten that little detail. "I'll deal with it." Having said this, he left the room.

"What's he doing?" came the query from one of the hobbits, Pippin Harry thought his name was.

"You lot will stay here, Aragorn is going to rent the hobbit rooms and make it seem like you are there, through the clever use of illusions, a.k.a. pillows. With any luck, when the Nazgul discover the deception they will think that we have already left to gain a headstart, meaning they won't be watching here. That should give us enough time to get away from here and close to Rivendell. But we're up early, so go to sleep." Having said that, the hobbits slowly approached the bed and got in. Surprisingly all four fit into a double bed. Slowly one by one they drifted off into sleep. Aragorn returned silently and took a seat beside Harry to watch out the window. "It's finished. Do you think this will work?"

"I hope so, besides I can only feel 5 nearby, we can protect the hobbit's from 5. Right?"

"Yeah, but they will summon others if they find the hobbits, especially Frodo." As the two were speaking, they were gazing out the window, trying to uncover some sign that the Nazgul were here or coming, and then they saw figures emerge from the shadows cast by the house. Slowly they approached the corner of the Inn where the hobbit rooms where. "Someone told them, there's no way they could know where the hobbit rooms are. We'll have to be careful tomorrow, and get up before dawn to leave before anyone awakes."

The two watched the Nazgul enter the hobbit rooms, which they could see from their window. A short time after, they heard the frustrated screech of the Nazgul which woke three of the hobbits. They had been so focused on the Nazgul, they hadn't noticed Frodo getting out of bed.

"What are they?" asked Frodo with a slight tremor in his voice.

"They were once men. Great kings of men. Then Sauron the Deceiver gave to them nine rings of power. Blinded by their greed, they took them without question. One by one, fell into darkness. Now they are slaves to his will. They are the Nazgul. Ringwraiths, neither living nor dead. At all times they feel the presence of the ring. Drawn to the power of the one, they will never stop hunting you."

Well, what's everyone think. By the way I took those last few lines from the movie. I know Harry and Aragorn seem a bit indecisive or worried than in canon, but I think they had those fears but never voiced them because they had no real confidants Aragorn because he mostly travelled alone, and Harry because he had present a strong image to Ron and Hermione during their adventures, whereas here they matured together and have been friend for 67 years. See you soon.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I still don't own either Harry Potter or the Lord of the Rings. I attempted to buy Lord of the Rings, turns out a half-eaten bag of Skittles and 27p is not an acceptable offer. Who knew?

Chapter 3

Just as the first rays of the sun began to reach the small town of Bree, a company of 6 could be seen leaving by one of the side-gates. At first glance it appeared to be two men leading four children and a horse out into the country for a peaceful stroll. However, the reality was far different. The two men's casual glances at the wildlife wasn't simply to see if hunting would be good, but to see if the animals had noticed something out of the ordinary nearby. And the four children were actually fully grown hobbits.

Harry and Aragorn had worked through the night to prepare food for the journey, and guarding the hobbits at the same time. It had been a tiresome night, filled with fear that the Nazgul would know where the hobbits were, but that fear was mingled with hope that the oppressive presence of Sauron that was destroying Middle Earth could be ended, for the Ring of Sauron was in the hands of good, who were working to counteract Sauron's evil. And this morning, before dawn had broke, the hobbits had been awoken and led out of the Prancing Pony. "How far is it to Rivendell?" came the voice of Pippin, who despite numerous warnings still insisted on asking questions.

"We should arrive in around 14 days. And once more Pippin, be quiet, do you want hobbits in the Shire to know where we're going?" came the irritated reply from Aragorn, who had been drawn from his conversation with Harry about which way was the best way to Rivendell, Aragorn's being swifter but slightly more dangerous as it came close to numerous predators as well as staying away from any of Harry and Aragorn's hiding places, where they had stationed some supplies in case of emergency, while Harry's would take longer but was undoubtly safer. In the end, Aragorn won the argument, and so the party began to head towards Rivendell, with Aragorn leading, and Harry bringing up the rear.

7 ardurous days later, in which the hobbits fitness had been tested, and the men' patience, the arrived at Amon Sul, known as Weathertop to men. Seeing the fatigue clearing shown on the faces of the hobbits, the two men decided to stop for the night despite it being a number of hours until nightfall.

"It's my night tonight, I'll go see if there's any game around here." Having said this, Harry stood to leace the campsite but was quickly pulled aside by Aragorn.

"The game is scarce here, more than usual. Something's out there, and it's scared the animals."

"The Nazgul. We probably shouldn't tell the hobbits, it'd worry them too much. They aren't used to this. I'll be back soon, hopefully with food. Let's hope we're wrong about this, and it's just been a hard year, I mean, it is close to Winter. Most animals are probably sleeping." Seeing he had reassured Aragorn, he headed off into the wilderness in search of any animals.

A two hour hunt later, and Harry was looking at a deer, bow drawn, ready to kill, and just as he fired, a piercing scream flew through the air, causing the deer to flee and the arrow to hit a tree. Cursing, and fearing the worst, Harry turned and ran back to Amon Sul. Several more screams filled the air, causing fear to begin to flow through Harry, pushing him to new speeds. Several minutes later, hating that Apparition wasn't possible in this world, Harry arrived back at Weathertop, before realising he had to climb to the top, as Aragorn and the hobbits had obviously fled there and had been persued by the Nazgul. Harry reached the top, just in time to see a flaming Nazgul run off the side of the mountain. Seeing the three hobbits crowding around Frodo, who was moaning and screeching in pain, he sprinted over to him, while Aragorn made sure the Nazgul had all fled. "He's been stabbed by a morgul blade." came the clinical voice of Aragorn. "This is beyond our ability to heal."

"What happened here? How the they find us? How did Frodo get stabbed? What happened?" The questions simply tumbled out of Harry in his quest to find out.

*FLASHBACK*

"These blades are for you. Harry picked them up earlier for you." The hobbits upon seeing their weapons, began examing them despite having only seen swords a couple of times in their life before this journey. Aragorn began watching them to ensure they didn't impale themselves upon their own weapons. Looking up, Aragorn saw the sun had set and it was twilight, and Harry had still not returned. Hearing a twig snap nearby, he stood and began walking in the direction of the noise, before turning to the hobbits who were watching him go. "I'm going to have a look around. While I'm gone, try not to do anything stupid." Quickly he turned to follow the sound, and several moments later, saw a fox begin to run. Curious as to why it fled from him, he began to follow, lighting a torch as he did so. The answer quickly became apparent as a scream pierced the air, turning he saw a light on top of Weathertop. He realised the hobbits had light a fire, on top of a hill where everyone could see it, even though they were being hunted by 9 of the most dangerous creatures alive. He began running back to Weathertop, reaching the hobbits just as Frodo was stabbed by one of the Nazgul and leapt into the fray, making wide sweeps with his torch to drive them back while attacking with his sword. Just as he threw the torch at the final Nazgul, he saw Harry arrive, worry obvious in his face as he headed over to check on Frodo. Wincing, Aragorn followed him.

*FLASHBACK ENDS*

"The idiots, lighting a fire on top of a hill. Why did they do that, anyway? You know what, I don't want to know, and it's probably better that I don't know." came Harry's response to the story. As the two were speaking, Harry had picked up Frodo and began to lead the others down the hill. He didn't know why they were rushing, it was unlikely they would make it to Rivendell before Frodo succumbed to his wound. A few hours later, in the dead of night, they were forced to call a halt. Despite the rest on top of Weathertop, the hobbits were struggling to cope with the journey to Rivendell. The punishing speed that the Rangers set tired them out faster than normal. Instantly, Aragorn turned to Sam to tell him about the Athelas plant, before heading out to find some himself, while Harry checked to see if he could do anything to help Frodo, however his mediocre healing abilities failed him, and he contented himself with simply watching out for anything coming towards the group.

Aragorn quickly headed away from the group to find Athelas, the plant with almost magical properties. Luckily he found some, and bent down to cut some of the leaves before a sword touched his neck.

A/N: Sorry for the delay and the low quality of writing. My granda had a stroke and so I wasn't really in the mood. But please review, and help me improve. Should update again over the weekend.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Chapter 4

Disclaimer: If it's not obvious yet, I will say again I do not own Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings, I do, however, own a ring. It's getting depressing saying I don't own stuff anymore.

Chapter 4

The sword touched his neck lightly, not enough to draw blood, as a melodious voice drifted down to Aragorn saying, "What's this? A ranger? Caught off his guard?"

Harry felt the oppressive feeling that had been present since the Nazgul appeared lighten slightly, before seeing Aragorn leading a familar woman who gave off a faint glow to their campsite. Recognising Arwen, Harry smiled, knowing help was at hand. She approached Frodo, and remarked, "He is fading, fast."

Harry looked at her incredulously, before replying, "We're aware of that. It's why we were rushing though a forest in the dead of night."

Ignoring Harry, she turned to Frodo, and spoke in Elvish, "Frodo, listen to my voice. Come back to the light." It seemed to have an instant effect on Frodo, who began to look more alive than he had since he was stabbed. Picking him up, Arwen said, "I must get him to my people." She set Frodo on top of her horse. Realising she would take Frodo away, and that the Nazgul would follow the rider, Harry looked around to see how he could help. Spotting Bill, the pony, he smiled and began to remove the supplies that Bill had been carrying. As this was happening, Aragorn and Arwen were arguing over who should take Frodo due to the danger of the journey, "How can you have a lover's spat at a time like this?" asked Harry. "Time is of the essence, so Arwen, take him and go. I'll distract them."

Having settled the argument, Arwen jumped up behind Frodo and galloped away. "What are you doing?" asked Aragorn worriedly, having been involved in some of Harry's less sucessful plans before including one that had involved fleeing from a mob of angry villagers after some of Harry's actions. The answering smirk did nothing to disencourage the nervous feeling which was rapidly growing at the pit of his stomach.

Turning to the hobbits, Harry asked, "Who wants to help Frodo? Sam. Good, get on top of Bill. Wait a second, Reducio gravitas,now get up." As Sam got on top of Bill, Harry cast a lightening charm on himself so that Bill could bear the weight of them both, before jumping up behind Bill. Realising what he had forgotten, he cast an illusion on Bill to make him look like a larger horse that was capable of great speeds and an illusion on Sam to make him appear as Frodo had. "It's only an illusion, it's still Bill, it just doesn't look like him. Oh, and act like Frodo was, make sure to include plently of grunts. O.k." Having reassured Sam, Harry set off, heading a slightly different path than Arwen had in an attempt to lessen the persuit of the elf maiden, leaving Aragorn behind to lead the remaining two hobbits, as well as explain about the lover's spat. Spotting Arwen in the distance, he realised that there were five Nazgul following her.

Just as he was wondering where the other four were, his reflexes kicked in and he quickly changed Bill's direction, only for a Nazgul to leap into the space occupied by Harry and Sam a second before. Quickly, man and hobbit began to flee, the herding from the four Nazgul that had appeared driving them away from Arwen and Frodo, ensuring the pair a slightly safer journey to Rivendell, making it more likely Frodo would get there on time. Despite the Nazgul, Harry was slowly able to move closer to the Ford of Bruinen, which surrounded Rivendell, and was also the way Arwen and Frodo would be headed, however Bill was starting to tire, unused to the weight of riders, despite the lightening charms. The Nazgul began to gain ground on Harry and Sam, until finally just as the River came into sight, Harry was forced to fling himself and Sam off Bill due to the cleaving stike of one of the Nazgul. Miraculously, Bill was unharmed and fled across the River. It was unknown to either of the pair, but at the same time Bill crossed the Ford, so too were Arwen and Frodo.

At this time, the four Nazgul who had chased Harry and Sam, encircled the four, swords drawn and ready to kill. Sam and Harry stood back to back, Sam wielding a sword which he couldn't use, and Harry wielding both wand and sword. Harry shivered, the Nazgul had a foreboding presence which depressed those around them, sucking the hope from them. Just as Sam was about to try and escape, Harry came to an epiphany, the Nazgul were very similar to Dementors. With this thought in mind, Harry conjured up thoughts of his travels with Aragorn, his memories of his childhood friends Hermione and Ron, as well as memories of his friends in this world. Filled with the euphoria of these memories, Harry shouted, "Expecto Patronum!" Out of his wand, shot a white mist that coalesced into a large, glowing stag, looking exactly like his father's animagus form did. However, the similarities between Dementor and Nazgul did not seem to extend to Patronii, instead of fleeing, the Nazgul simply backed away slightly.

Seeing a way out for Sam, he sent the Patronus towards the bank, forcing a gap between the Nazgul, before throwing Sam throw it and leaping after him lashing out wildly with his sword. His plan worked and he now had his back to the ford, and so could only be attacked from one side. Yelling at Sam to run, Harry turned to face the Nazgul. He wasn't waiting long before one Nazgul attacked. Blocking the initial strike, Harry struck back only to be parried. Seeing the struggle, the other Nazgul joined the fight, causing Harry to rely on the reflexes that had made him such an amazing seeker and sword skills honed over 60 years to defend himself. Knocking one Nazgul back, Harry heard the rushing of the water in the Ford, and realising that Arwen must have activated the defenses of Rivendell causing a powerful wave to travel down the Ford of Bruinen, turned to the Ford and began to rush across it. Just as he made it across, the Nazgul who had been following him were hit by the wave and swept away. Looking in the direction of Rivendell, he saw Sam and raced to catch up. Doing so, and catching Bill along the way, he began to walk alongside Sam.

"Frodo's going to be alright, isn't he, Mr. Harry?" said Sam nervously.

"Well, that wave was the Rivendell defenses which meant the Nazgul tried to cross the Ford. They wouldn't do that if they had Frodo, so they were chasing him across, which means Frodo reached Rivendell. However, wounds from Morgul blades aren't easily healed." Seeing Sam looked even more nervous, Harry continued, "Although, Elrond is the greatest healer in Middle Earth so Frodo should be fine. And Aragorn, Pippin and Merry should arrive in Rivendell tomorrow sometime, and we should arrive there by nightfall." Turning, Harry cancelled the illusions on both Sam and Bill, turning them back into their real selves.

"What was that glowing animal? Where did it come from?" asked Sam curiously.

"It was my patronus, a spell I hoped would drive off the Nazgul, unfortunately it didn't, but it did make them move slightly."

"A spell, do you mean like magic? You're a wizard? Where's you're staff?"

"I am a wizard, but a different kind than Gandalf, and I use a wand instead of a staff because a wand is smaller and easier to move around. Now, come on, I want to get a hot meal tonight, and I'm sure you want to see Frodo."

The odd pair, a 6 foot tall man, and a 3 foot 4 hobbit made their way north towards Rivendell, where Frodo was desperately struggling to stay alive, and Elrond fought to help him.

Reducio gravitas - Reduce weight

Please review. I am aware I took some liberties with Middle Earth geography but oh well, call it creative licence. Feel privledged, two updates in one day.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or the Lord of the Rings, I could if I wanted to, but I don't. I much prefer writing pathetic fanfictions and making no money to owning several bestsellers and making thousands of pounds a day.

The odd pair, a 6 foot tall man, and a 3 foot 4 hobbit made their way north towards Rivendell, where Frodo was desperately struggling to stay alive, and Elrond fought to help him.

Chapter 5

Wearily, the two made their way into courtyard of Rivendell to be greeted by Elladan and Elrohir, the twin sons of Elrond, who took them to see Frodo. Of course, they weren't allowed to enter his room as Elrond was still healing him.

"It doesn't look good. I've never seen Ada spend so long healing a single person, and it's been so long since he was stabbed, so the poison has spread through most of his body." Was Elrohir's answer to the unspoken question written clearly on Sam's face. "You're of no help to him here. I'll take you to the kitchens to get something to eat, and then give you a bed. You look like you're about to collapse." He told Sam, before leading him away to the aforementioned kitchen.

Harry simply nodded to Elladan before heading away to his room, Elrond having given it to him due to how often him and Aragorn visited in the past few years.

Reaching his room, he entered and simply collapsed onto the bed, and without bothering to take off his clothes, simply fell asleep for the first time in nearly 48 hours.

The sun's rays hit Harry's eyes pulling him slowly out of his dreams into the waking world. Pulling himself up, he looked around recognising the room and smiling. Remembering Frodo, Harry got out of bed and due to the state of his clothes, changed into more appropriate clothing. Leaving his room, he headed towards the room Frodo should be in.

"Harry!" Aragorn's shout startled Harry, who had turned and fallen into a fighting stance instinctively. Upon realising it was Aragorn, he stood up sheepishly.

"I'm a little paranoid. How's Frodo?" said Harry, eager to divert attention away from what he had just done.

"Well, I'm fine, thanks for asking. Frodo should be fine, but he shouldn't wake up for another day. Sam hasn't left his side since Ada stopped working on him. By the thanks, because of you Arwen was only chased by 5 Nazgul. Now come, let's get something to eat." The two old friends began the familar trek towards the kitchens, grabbing a quick breakfast before heading up to see if Sam had eaten today.

Turns out, Sam hadn't eaten since he had some Lembas bread the night before, and it took Harry and Aragorn bodily dragging him back to the kitchens for him to eat. As Sam eat his breakfast, or more accurately, inhaled it, Aragorn made sure to inform Harry in painstaking detail of just how much Pippin and Merry and talked and whined on the way to Rivendell. The two had managed an incredible feat, they had driven Aragorn to the point where he had threatened to kill them in their sleep if they didn't keep quiet. They apparently had very little respect for Aragorn's authority, or as Harry jokingly put, non-existant authority. As they spoke, Sam had finished his breakfast and was already sprinting back to Frodo's side. Having experienced waiting for many injured companions to wake up, including the mind-numbing boredom of waiting, they decided to spend their day productively; sparring, with Aragorn trying to bruise and hurt Harry as much as possible for leaving him with the twin terrors.

Around midday, a limping Harry spotted Gandalf standing on a balcony talking to Elrond. Signalling to Aragorn to stop, Harry waved up at Gandalf before realising the importance of Gandalf's conversation. Rather than listen in as he would have done in the past, he and Aragorn decided to see if there was any change with Frodo.

There wasn't, but they once again dragged Sam down to eat. How he wasn't bored yet was a mystery, although his loyalty was great to see. After lunch, Harry and Aragorn split up- Aragorn heading towards the library to read more of the old lays of the older ages and Harry to spend some time connecting with his magic.

The magic slowly tired Harry out, and he stopped exhausted and surprised at the lateness of the hour. Entering the hall of Elrond, Harry spotted Bilbo and went over to him to spend a night getting more and more inebriated, while laughing with the eldery hobbit and a number of dwarves who had come for Elrond's "secret council."

Slowly Harry regained consciousness and managed to stand up, although his head felt like it had borne the brunt of a falling tree and he was curious as to how he ended up in bed. Deciding his stomach wasn't settled enough for food, he headed up to Frodo's where he saw Sam rush in shouting, "Frodo."

Walking into the room, he saw an awake Frodo in a huddle with the other hobbits, before looking up and spotting Harry and Aragorn leaning against the wall.

A number of days later, most of the time having been spent drunk, playing with magic or practicing sword play, Harry was pulled off to Elrond's secret council by Aragorn.

**Just so as you know, this is more of a filler chapter as nothing really happens at Rivendell before the council. Out of curiosity, how did Boromir and the other Gondorians get to Rivendell so fast? A feat which took Aragorn and the others around a month or two. And why was the council outsife? Anyway, see you next time.**


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Still don't own Harry Potter or the Lord of the Rings, I do however own the poem "An ode to Awfully Bad Poems" which none of you have ever heard of.

Chapter 6:

Taking a seat at the edge of the semi-circle beside Aragorn, Harry looked around; at the other end of the semi-circle, directly opposite from Harry, sat Frodo, and beside him sat Gandalf, who had been delayed by Saruman who had turned traitor, beside them sat the elves, of which Harry only recognised Legolas, Prince of Mirkwood, who sat beside the men of Gondor and then the dwarves of whom Harry knew only Glóin, the two having shared drinks and stories in the past days, then sat Aragorn and then himselves. A single thought flitted through Harry's mind at this point, "Why is Rohan not represented?"

In full view of all the assembled, stood Elrond.

"Strangers from distant lands, friends of old, you've been summoned here today to answer the threat of Mordor." Began Elrond imperiously. "Middle-earth stands upon the brink of destruction. None can escape." He continued ominously. "You will unite or you will fall. Each race is bound to this fate, this one doom. Bring forth the ring, Frodo." He gestured towards Frodo who slowly approached the stone table and placed it there. When it came into sight, a number of men shifted in their seats and one, a noble looking man, spoke up, "So, it is true." The others attention was captured by the ring.

"The doom of Men." Elrond said, breaking the intense silence.

He was answered by Boromir, "It is a gift." Standing up, he continued, "A gift to the foes of Mordor. Why not use this ring?" At this point he began pacing in front of the council, saying, "Long has my father, the steward of Gondor, kept the forces of Mordor at bay."  
"Ah," thought Harry, "His father has heard tales that the ring has been found and sends his son to retrieve."  
Unknowing of Harry's thoughts, Boromir spoke again, "By the blood of our people are your lands kept safe. Give Gondor the weapon of the enemy. Let us use it against him."

At this, Aragorn had had enough and spoke up," You can not wield it. None of us can. The One RIng answers to Sauron alone. It has no other master."

"And what would a Ranger know of this matter." said Boromir, dismissively.

"Apparently they had met before, and didn't get along." Harry's silent commentary was heard only by himself, but before he spoke up to defend his friend, Legolas jumped to his feet quickly and said, "This is no mere Ranger. He is Aragorn, son of Arathorn. You owe him your allegiance."

Hearing this, Boromir turned to Aragorn with a shocked look on his face before saying, "Aragorn. This is Isidur's heir?"

"And heir to the throne of Gondor." continued Legolas, making a betrayed look appear on Frodo's face, angry this secret had been kept from him.

"Sit down, Legolas." It was clear that Aragorn had grown up with the elves as the beautiful language of Sindarín flowed from his lips.

"Gondor has no king. Gondor needs no king." spat out Boromir, before sitting down.

"Aragorn is right. We cannot use it." clarified Gandalf.

"You have only choice. The Ring must be destroyed." said Elrond. At this, an eerie silence fell upon the council as the members looked at one another, none wanting to take a lead. However, one of the dwarves rose to the challenge and his feet, saying, "What are we waiting for?" Before striking the ring with one of his various axes, causing him to fall down. The ring remained whole, but shards of the axe were strewn across the table beside it, testiment to the dwarves attempt to destroy it, however when the blow had connected, a number of the assembled people flinched, only Frodo, who had borne the ring, and the two wizards, who had a connection to magic.

"The ring can not be , son of Glóin, by any craft that we here possess." said Elrond, somewhat needlessly. "The Ring was made in the fires of Mount Doom. Only there can it be unmade."  
"The circle of life, at it's best." remarked Harry, although softly so only Aragorn heard him, causing Aragorn to try and force back the laughter that threatened to erupt from his throat, but to those who knew him well, the struggle was obvious. Satisfied, Harry leaned back in his chair.

"It must be taken deep into Mordor and cast back into the fiery chasm from whence it came. One of you must do it." Elrond's announcement once more caused a silence to fall on the council, before Boromir spoke up, "One does not simply walk into Mordor. It's Black Gates are guarded by more than just Orcs. There is evil there that does not sleep. The Great Eye is ever watchful. It is a barren wasteland riddled with fire, ash and dust. The very air you breathe is a poisonous fume. Not with 10,000 men could you do this. It is folly."  
"Well, we won't be using 10,000 men. We will use a small company who could slip past the guard rather than try and destroy it." Said Harry, rebuking Boromir's comment.

Despite Harry's comment, Legolas still felt the need to defend his fellow elf, jumping to his feet and staring down at Boromir saying, "Have you heard nothing Lord Elrond has said? The Ring must be destroyed."

At this point, the fabled Dwarf-Elf rivalry sprang up again, and Gimli spoke up, "And I suppose you think you are the one to do it!"  
Boromir stood, saying, "And if we fail, what then? What happens when Sauron takes back what is his?"

"I will be dead before I see the Ring in the hands of an elf." At Gimli's comment, the Elves jumped to their feet along with the rest of the council barring Frodo, Harry and Aragorn.

"Great, we should be united against Sauron, but instead we sit here, bickering like some old women." was Aragorn's wry remark.

"This isn't bickering, this is politics." replied Harry grinning, before Frodo's face caused his mood to fall slightly. "Frodo want's to take the ring. I can see it in his eyes. He has taken it this far and see's it as his duty to finish the task." At this statement, Aragorn turned to Harry with a questioning look on his face, but with his peripheral vision saw Frodo stand and say something indiscernable, before repeating it louder, "I will take it." Frodo's voice cut through the noise of the council capturing everyone's attention. "I will take the Ring to Mordor, though I do not know the way."

"I will help you bear this burden, Frodo Baggins, as long as it is your's to bear." said Gandalf before standing behind Frodo.

Aragorn stood saying, "If by my life or death, I can protect you I will." He then walked towards Frodo, and knelt saying, "You have my sword."

At this point, Harry got up and followed Aragorn, mumbling under his breath under his breath about foolish men with a death wish.

"And you have my bow." said Legolas.

"And my axe." growled Gimli, not wanting to be outdone by an elf, causing a slightly annoyed look to grace Legolas' face.

At this Boromir walked forward, before turning to face the council saying, "You carry the fates of us all, little one. If this is indeed the will of the council, then Gondor will see it done."

His grand statement was ruined when Sam jumped up from behind a bush were he had apparently been eavesdropping, shouting, "Here. Frodo's not going anywhere without me."  
"It is hardly possible to seperate you two, even when he is summoned to a secret council and you are not."

Merry's voice drifted to the council from behind them, where he and Pippin had also been eavesdropping. "We're coming too!"

"Some secret council." was the only thought going through Harry's mind.

"You'll have to send us home tied up in a sack to stop us." continued Merry

"There's an idea." remarked Harry, causing a smirk to appear on the faces of those who had heard.

"Anyway, you need people of intelligence on this sort of mission. Quest. Thing." said Pippin, casting a dirty look at Harry.

"Well, that rules you out, Pip." said Merry.

"Ten companions. So be it. You shall be the Fellowship of the Ring." said Elrond.

"Great. Where are we going?" questioned Pippin.

Harry's hand hit his head as he muttered, "We're doomed."

**Well, what do you think? I typed this up at half 3 in the morning cause I couldn't sleep, although it is basically what happens in the movie. Please review.**


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings, if I did, do you think I would be sitting in a dingy kitchen watching my dog to see if she is going to go into labour at 3 in the morning? No, I would not.

Chapter 7:

After the council's decision, the assembled members left the garden to go and enjoy the rest of their stay in Rivendell, while those who had decided to attempt to destroy the ring left to prepare for their long journey. For the hobbits, this meant getting fed and learning how to use their swords well enough that they wouldn't hurt themselves, while the others went and poured over maps to attempt to divine some sort of path that they could take, while also gathering supplies for the journey as well as weapons.

In the monotonous week that followed, in which every day was similar to the day before, two things happened to Harry that gave him a break from the endless studying, something he still hated as much as he did when he was still a student. They were two conversations, one with Elrond and one with Arwen.

He had just finished looking over one of Elrond's undetailed maps of Mordor, specifically one on the mountains of Mordor to see if their were any mountain passages known to the Elves, there were none, when he was dragged away by Elrond. Harry did not have a particularly good relationship with Elrond, they disagreed on too many things, but they respected each other, and so Harry followed Elrond out into the halls and into an unoccupied room.

"Aragorn needs to be ready." began Elrond curtly.

"Ready? Ready for what?" was Harry's confused reply.

"No matter how the journey goes, Gondor will need a leader to either distract Sauron from the ring and then to heal the damage done to the country or try and oppose Sauron at the height of his powers. Both hard tasks, and none of them can be done by the Steward, Denethor or his two sons. Denethor has learned much of the strength of Sauron and would not oppose him directly but flee from any confrontation, and if you eventually succeed, he will be more worried about Aragorn usurping him than doing his job. And as for his sons, both able warriors and commanders, but these tasks will be beyond them. Aragorn is our only option, and he is not ready. You must help him, and ensure that when the time comes, he will do what is needed and take the throne. You and I both know he wishes to flee from his destiny, to hide in the shadows but soon he must enter the light. He could be one of the greatest kings of men to have ever lived, he simply does not want to. His reluctance to take what is rightfully his could be man's undoing." At this point, seeing Harry was in deep contemplation, Elrond left.  
Harry, despite what many would say, was not stupid and had thankfully learned to listen to other people's opinions, if you didn't know their side, how could you argue back was Harry's belief, and so he listened to Elrond's words and played them over and over again in his head, before finally agreeing. Aragorn had to realise that he could not flee from his destiny, and he would only listen to Harry, so he had to convince Aragorn that he would do well as King. Aragorn had always followed Harry's lead, and was only recently beginning to make decisions rather than simply advise on what they should do. That aspect of his character would have to become more prominent if he was to become a good king. The fact he wouldn't be able to marry Arwen unless he was king of Gondor and Arnor should help convince him as well.

Speak of the devil and she shall appear.

"Hello, Harry." Arwen's melodious voice drifted into Harry's ears.

"What do you want?" Harry groaned. Why were people always coming to him to do things? Couldn't they see how much he wanted to get back to looking at stupid maps about places he had mostly been to before?  
"This journey you and the others will be going on will be dangerous, won't it?" she asked.

"Yes." was Harry's suspicious response. She wouldn't ask him to-

"Please, make sure Aragorn doesn't do something incredibly brave but life threatening on the trip."

She would, but then again, Aragorn needed someone to look out for him, he was always finding a way into trouble even if occasionally it had been Harry's fault.

"Alright, I'll do my best." At Harry's confirmation, Arwen nodded and headed away.

At this the only thought going through Harry's head were. "Hang on a second. What she just said, if replaced by you was something that Hermione and the others would have said to him everytime he left Hogwarts. Wasn't he supposed to be the hero? Ah well, Aragorn is a worthy sucessor, I'll just sit back and watch. Could be fun."

Despite the way the week dragged on, the morning where the Fellowship would be setting out draw near and just as the sun's rays showed above the horizon for the first time, the fellowship stood in the courtyard, waiting to be sent off by Elrond and the other elves.

"You should be wary of the many eyes of Sauron. I do not doubt that the Riders will already have new steeds to cary them, and they will be joined by Sauron spies, both on foot and wing, in searching for you. But do not despair, for the hopes of men, elves and dwarves go with you. We wish you well on your journey."

Realising the dismissal, the fellowship began to leave the courtyard, watched by the elves and Elrond. Looking back, Harry met the eyes of Elrond and Arwen, both of whom nodded to him in farewell. Harry realised what a monumental task he and the others faced. They had to sneak all the way to Mordor, slip past the heavy guard, make it across the plains of Gorgoroth, all the while evading the thousands of orcs there, and eventually throw the ring into Mount Doom, before coming back the way they came. It didn't seem like much of a plan, more like they were being sent to their death on a fool's errand. And on top of that, he had been tasked with convincing Aragorn he was worthy of the throne of Gondor, keep him alive long enough to claim it all the while keeping himself alive. This could be more difficult than he thought, although he smiled as he heard Frodo's whispered words, "Gandalf, which way is it to Mordor? Left or right?"

**Not very happy with this chapter, although a lot of stuff is happening in my life right now, my dog is having puppies and we're moving house in a few weeks so we're preparing for that, but anyway. Please review and thanks for reading.**


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or the Lord of the Rings, no book of mine would ever sell as well as they do.

Chapter 8

The fellowship began to slowly travel south, aiming to hold their course west of the Mountains before circling around them, and most of the members of the fellowship were sombre, barring the hobbits who were constantly chatting about the great adventure they were going on. Gandalf was leading the company followed by Legolas, Gimli, Boromir and then the hobbits, with Aragorn and Harry bringing up the rear while arguing.

"We will end this journey near Gondor. Boromir will return to the White City knowing who you are. You must take the throne." began Harry vehemently.

"I do not want kingship, I never have. You know this." retorted Aragorn.

"It is not always about what the individual wants, but what is best for the whole. You know my story before I came to these lands, you know the sacrifices I made to protect my people. This is something I know a lot about, trust me and become King. Take your inheritance."

"Gondor is not my land or my people. I was raised in Rivendell, it is my home. My people, please, men everywhere recoiled from us in fear, why should I do this for them. I would do it only for those I care about, you, Arwen, my friends."

"If I didn't know you so well, I'd say you were ashamed to be human, and those you care about, have you ever thought this might be good for them. You know Elrond will not allow you to marry Arwen unless you become king, you know the elves will leave these shores soon after the war and you know that men must be ready to take up the elves task, to preserve the good in this world, and they can not. They are not ready, but if you were to take the throne, you could lead men into the New Age, an Age of peace, an Age where children can grow up without fear of Orcs. I don't think the problem is that you don't want to become king, but that you are afraid to become it." With these words, he walked up beside Gandalf leaving behind Aragorn who was in deep thought over what he had just been told.

Several days later, and Aragorn was still uncommonly silent, and the company had just awoken and were preparing breakfast with Boromir once more attempting to teach Merry and Pippin the rudimentaries of fighting.

"Two, one, five. Good." He called out to Pippin as he drilled various attacks with a sword.

Aragorn, who watched while smoking, called out, "Mind your feet."

Harry reinforced this, "If you're not where the strike falls, you can't get hurt, whereas blocking can easily fail if your enemy is stronger than you or is feinting."  
Gimli spoke up at this point, voicing one of his various complaints, "If anyone asked for my opinion, which I note they're not, I'd say we were taking the long way round. Gandalf, we could pass through the Mines of Moria. My cousin Balin would give us a royal welcome."

"No, Gimli. I would not take the road through Moria unless I had no other choice." Gandalf replied.

"Yeah, meeting Duríns Bane is not how I would imagine a quiet journey would begin." Harry whispered to Aragorn, who frowned.  
"Any idea what it is?" Aragorn answered.

"Do I look like I'm omniscient? And that was rhetorical so don't answer." was Harry's snide reply.

"You hate admitting you don't know something, don't you?"

"Ignorance is bliss, but what you don't know can still kill you. I learnt that lesson a long time ago."

A cry of pain issued from Merry, as Boromir hit his hand with his sword, thankfully not the edge. However, Boromir got his comeuppance as the two hobbits simply dropped their swords and leapt at Boromir, who despite being much stronger was hard pressed to defend himself without hurting the hobbits.

Pippin had just yelled, "For the shire!" when Aragorn decided to play peacemaker.

"Alright Gentlemen, I believe that's enough." However, the hobbits paid little heed to him, other than to pull him down to the ground as well, causing Harry's face to turn red as struggled not to laugh as he watched two grown men brawling hobbits of all things.

At this point, Legolas turned to Harry and said wryly, "How are the lessons going?"  
"Well enough. So far they've learned that the pointy end of the sword goes in the enemy. It was a hard lesson for them." replied Harry with a straight face before turning back to the mass of limbs squirming on the ground. "Come Aragorn, let's show them how the professionals do it."

He then approached the four and deftly dragged Aragorn out. "Alright, but no magic, please." was Aragorn's pleading response.

Harry agreed and the two faced each other with practice swords out, before circling. Aragorn feinted towards Harry's head, before striking at Harry's left side, but Harry answered with a quick parry before lashing out at Aragorn coming within centimetres of hitting Aragorn's shoulder, but was blocked by Aragorn, who unfortunately couldn't block Harry's kick, which hit Aragorn in his upper thigh, deadening it slightly, slowing Aragorn down.

Aragorn made to hit Harry low but was quickly parried by Harry, who riposted and nearly struck Aragorn's upper arm, but was dodged while launching an attack towards Harry that was aimed towards Harry's torso, but was sidestepped by Harry, who pulled Aragorn's sword arm before touching him on the neck with his sword.

"I win." The fellowship had been slightly awed by the speed each combatant had used, with the entire fight taking just under 15 seconds. They also realised that Harry and Aragorn had been holding back so as not to hurt each other.

The shocked silence was broken by Sam saying, "What's that?" while pointing a black mark in the sky.

Gimli dismissed him, saying, "It's just a wisp of cloud."  
This was rebuked by Boromir, who said, "It's moving fast, against the wind."

"Crebain from Dunland." Legolas had recognised what it was and those who had heard of the birds exploded into action, with Aragorn throwing Frodo under a bush, while Harry put out the fire and vanished the ashes. Seeing the crebain approaching fast leapt away from the clearing towards the shrubs nearby, and had just disappeared from sight when the winged spies flew around the campsite.

"The passage south is being watched. We must take the path of Caradhras." Gandalf stated while pointing towards the mountain tops.

"This won't end well." Harry remarked to Aragorn.

The company followed Gandalf's lead towards Caradhras, heading up the snowy mountains, with Harry and Aragorn walking a short distance behind Frodo, arguing again about Aragorn taking the throne, when Frodo gave a short cry before falling to the ground and tumbling towards Aragorn and Harry, where he was quickly put back on his feet before realising the ring had fallen off his neck.

Looking up, the trio saw the ring lying on the ground where it was picked up by Boromir.

"It is a strange fate that we should suffer so much fear and doubt... over so small a thing." At this, Boromir reached out to touch the ring where it dangled from it's chain. "Such a little thing."

He was however broken out of his trance by Aragorn shouting, "Boromir. Give the ring to Frodo." At this point, Harry noticed Aragorn was holding the hilt of his sword, and allowed his own hand to drift casually towards his left arm where his wand was stationed.

There cautions weren't needed as Boromir said, "As you wish. I care not." in a fake carefree voice.

The fellowship continued onwards for several more days and slowly reached the foot of the mountain pass leading over Caradhras. Wearily, party began the long trek up the cold, treachrous path.

Gandalf took point, forging a path up the mountain, followed by Gimli and the three men, who each carried a hobbit on their back. Frodo, on the other hand, resoluting followed Gandalf on his own two feet, showing great willpower in ignoring the cold. Legolas had the easiest time, being an elf he was able to walk on top of the snow. Harry had done his best to aid the rest of the fellowship, summoning fires to surround the fellowship, although they could only do so much and all still felt the Legolas cried out, "There is a fell voice in the air."

And indeed there was, causing Gandalf to cry aloud, "It's Saruman."

Lightning struck the peak of the mountain, bringing down chunks of snow, burying the fellowship. But they soon pushed aside the snow to face the open air once more, and Aragorn called to Gandalf, "He's trying to bring down the mountain! Gandalf, we must turn back!"

Gandalf however, shook his head saying,"No." before turning to face the storm and shouting, "Losto Caradhras, sedho, hodo, nuitho i 'ruith." but his spell was interrupted as more snow landed on the mountain. Seeing the old wizard had failed, Harry stood up and decided to try and break the white wizard's spell, shouting out, "Peto Somnus, Caradhras. Veneficious, subsistro vestri veneficious." while forcing his magic to act, attempting to put Caradhras back to sleep, while stopping Saruman's spell. When more snow fell, it was obvious he had failed.

Boromir shouted, "We must get off the mountain! Make for the Gap of Rohan and take the west road to my city!"

Aragorn replied, "The Gap of Rohan takes us to close to Isengard!"

Gimli decided to add his opinion, "If we cannot pass over the mountain, let us go under it. Let us go through the Mines of Moria."

"Typical." thought Harry, "They stand here arguing over what to do while the hobbits freeze to death."

Gandalf settled the argument, stating, "Let the ring bearer decide."

Despite his initial surprise, Frodo quickly replied, "We shall go through the mines."

"So be it."

**Well, what do you think? I decided to post this and the chapter of my other story as soon as I wrote them as I'm moving tomorrow and I'm not sure when I can post again. So obviously, the chapters aren't very long or good. And please review.**


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: Despite my best efforts, I still do not own Harry Potter or the Lord of the Rings.

Chapter 9

The journey to the entrance of Moria was swift, but with every step Harry took, the ominous feeling that had been with him since the decision to travel through the mines increased. It was a feeling that had often come upon him in his youth when the end of the school year had come, and most recently the feeling he had when he and the others arrived at Weathertop. Unable to shake this feeling, Harry moved from the back of the company and strode up to the front to walk beside Gandalf. So as not to worry the others, he quickly placed a silencing charm around himself and Gandalf before voicing his fears. "I keep feeling as though something bad is going to happen soon, it has been growing stronger the past few days. I fear that if we all enter the mines, not all of us will leave."

Gandalf smiled at the perceptiveness of his friend, saying, "I feel that my time as Mithrandir is coming to a close. Remember this though, death is not the end."

"My old mentor used to say it was but the next great adventure."

"He sounds like a man I would have enjoyed knowing, but we should not depair. I have lived a long and full life, and as with all things, it must end. If I meet my end in Moria, then so be it. I also noticed you have gotten a lot better with a sword. You actually beat Aragorn, for what, the 2nd time?"  
"No, he only beats me 9 out of every 10 now. I'm getting better, besides I'm handier in a fight seeing how I have magic."

"Yes, you do. I fear your skills will be sorely tested by the end of this journey. Do not tell the others, no need to worry them. We might still be wrong."

Recognising the dismissal for what it was, Harry slowed down until he once more stood beside Aragorn, noticing Gandalf begin to talk to Frodo.

"The Walls of Moria." stated Gimli as they came into view.

Slowly, they approached the Walls and began to walk alongside of them searching for the door. Suddenly, Gandalf stopped next to what appeared to be a plain section of stone.

Running his hands along it, he said, "Well, lets see. Ithildin. It mirrors only starlight and moonlight." At the last word he turned and looked up to the sky where the moon apeared from behind a cloud.

"That was convenient." remarked Harry, as he saw a golden gate appear behind Gandalf, who stepped back and looked at the doorway.

"It reads, "The Doors of Durin, Lord of Moria. Speak, friend and enter."

Here, Merry pipped up, asking, "What do you suppose that means?"

"It's simple, if you are a friend, you will speak the password and the doors will open." Placing his staff against the doorway, he voiced a command, to which there was no visible reaction. Stepping forward, he attempted to force the door open.

"This will take a while, huh?" said Harry wryly. Gandalf answered only with dark look.

At Harry's words, the Fellowship sat down as Gandalf attempted to open the door, with Aragorn convincing Sam to let Bill, their pony go back to Rivendell.

Splash

The noise of a rock hitting the water woke Harry from his slumber. Looking up, he saw Pippin about to throw another stone into the water. With a gesture, Pippins arm was frozen and he dropped the rock as Harry told him, "Do not disturb the water, or me."

"Oh, it's useless." said Gandalf as he throw away his staff.

"Aragorn. Have you ever seen water ripple in a lake for no apparent reason?" asked Harry curiously.

"No, why?"

"Well, look at the lake now and you will." At Harry's words, a number of members of the Fellowship looked at the water which was moving quickly. Just as a few of them were about to voice concerns, Frodo stood up and looked at the elvish inscription upon the gate, before saying, "It's a riddle. Speak, friend and enter. Gandalf, what is the elvish for friend?"

"Mellon." At the word, the gates opened to a laugh from Harry as he said, "Shown up by a hobbit around a 100 times younger than you. Anyone else find it odd an elvish word is the password into a dwarven stronghold?" Noone answered his question.

The Fellowship slowly entered Moria, with Gimli talking of the hospitality of the dwarves and the welcome they would recieve. "Soon, Master Elf, you will enjoy the fabled hospitality of the Dwarves. Roaring fires, malt beer, ripe meat fresh of the bone! This, my friend, is the home of my cousin Balin. And they call it a mine. A mine."

As Gimli was speaking, both Gandalf and Harry were conjuring light to see, only to reveal a number of skeletons lying on the ground.

"This is no mine, it is a tomb." remarked Boromir as Gimli ran to one of the skeletons crying aloud.

"We should never have come here. Get out, make for the Gap of Rohan." continued Boromir as he shepherded the hobbits out of the mine.

"I'm not against going to Rohan." Harry added as he looked around. Hearing a cry, he turned and saw Frodo being held aloft by a tentacle.

Running towards the lake, he drew his sword and his wand, feeling rather than seeing the others heft their weapons and follow him. Flourishing his wand, he fired a number of cutting curses at the tentacle which simply bounce off. As he rapidly closed the distance between himself and Frodo, he fired once more, "Percutio." The spell pierced whatever armour the tenacle had, but made only a small cut. Giving it up as a bad job, he sheathed his wand and leapt, swinging his sword to cut the tentacle that had erupted out of the water beside him. Twisting around, he swung again cutting another tentacle, which dropped Frodo in Aragorn's arms. He, Aragorn and Boromir fled back into the tunnel as Legolas fired at the head of the creature that had appeared behind them.

As they entered the cave, Harry turned to bring down the gate and stop the creature gaining access to the Mines, only to find the creature, in it's bid to return, had done so itself.

"There is only one way open to us now. We must brave the dark path of Moria." said Gandalf as he produced a light from the top of his staff. "Let us hope our presence will go unnoticed."  
"After that entrance?" remarked Harry as he conjured more lights to follow and surround the company.

**I thought this was a good time to end the chapter. As always, read and review.**


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or the Lord of the Rings. That privledge goes to J.K. Rowling and the Tolkien family, respectively. I do not make any money from this story.

Chapter 10

Slowly, the Fellowship began to make their way through the Mines of Moria, climbing up stairs so steep the hobbits were literally climbing until they reached a plateau where Gandalf looked around confusedly, before saying, "I have no memory of this place." Slowly, Gandalf sat down on a piece of stone jutting out of the ground as the others sat down near him so as not to distract him. As they sat, a number of quiet conversations broke out.

"Are we lost?" asked Pippin.

"No." replied Merry.

"I think we are."  
"Gandalf's thinking."

"Merry?"  
"What?"

"I'm hungry." To shut Pippin up, Harry reached into his pack and pulled out an apple.

"Oi, Pippin. Shut up." As Pippin turned towards him, he threw the apple to him. Pippin nodded and thanks and began to dig into the apple. As they spoke, Harry noticed that Frodo had seen something and looked in the direction Frodo had started in, spotting Gollum. "Rotten, no-good stinker." he mumbled to himself, causing Legolas to look at him with concern only for Harry to point at Gollum. Above, he saw Frodo speaking to Gandalf about Gollum, shaking his head, he began to doze.

"Oh, it's that way." Gandalf's surprised voice broke Harry from his sleep.

"He's remembered." Merry said.

"No, but the air doesn't smell so foul down here. When in doubt Meriadoc, always follow your noise."  
"Would have been nice you remembered that a few hours ago." remarked Harry. Gandalf glowered at him as they entered a great cavernous hall.

"Behold..." intoned Gandalf, "The great realm and Dwarf city of Dwarrowdelf.

"Well, there's an eye opener and no mistake." remarked Sam as he looked around in awe.

The group slowly made it's way down the hall, between the pillars looking around in wonder at the craftsmanship necessary to create such a place. As they walked they noticed a side hall with a number of bodies littered around the doors. Gimli stopped, a look of horror on his face and began to run into it, ignoring Gandalf's cry. Inside there was a tomb, with dwarvish inscriptions on it. Gimli stopped before it and fell to his knees and began to sob. The group followed him in and gave him space to grieve.

"Here lies Balin, son of Fundin, Lord of Moria." read Gandalf. "He is dead, then. It's as I feared." Looking down, Gandalf saw a skeleton holding a book, and pryed it from it's fingers. He opened it and began to read, "They have taken the bridge and the second hall. We have barred the gates but can not hold them for long. The ground shakes. Drums, drums in the deep. We cannot get out. A Shadow moves in the realm. We cannot get out. They are coming."

As he finished, Pippin touched an arrow in a skeletons body and it's head fell down a well, followed swiftly by the rest of the body, making a loud racket as it fell and hit the sides of the well.

Gandalf looked at Pippin with contempt, even as an eerie silence fell over the group. "Fool of a Took!" Gandalf rebuked. "Throw yourself in next time and rid us of your stupidity."

As Gandalf turned away from the diminutive hobbit, a drum beat sounded in the distance, before beating more rapidly and the sound of screeching reached their ears.

"Frodo." said Sam, to his fellow hobbit who partially drew his sword which was glowing blue.

"Orcs." cursed Legolas, making Boromir run to the doors and look out. Only his battle honed reflexes forced his head out of the way of an arrow.

"Get back! Stay close to Gandalf." Aragorn commanded the hobbits, before rushing to help Boromir shut the doors.

"They have a cave troll." said Boromir sarcastically, even as he caught an axe Legolas threw him to wedge the doors shut. With an air of hastiness about them, the hobbits retreated to behind Gandalf as the others lined up a good few paces away from the door. As they all drew their weapons, Legolas, Harry and Aragorn pulled out their bows in preparation for the orcs and orcs coming. The doors began to shake and the orcs began to make holes in the door through which the trio of archers fired. After firing, Harry sheathed his bow and pulled out his wand and sword, just before the doors fell inwards.

"Depulso." Harry's spell caught the door before it hit the ground, sending it flying backwards through the orcs, although a few where still able to quickly run into the hall and engage the Fellowship. Harry charged at the orcs, firing rapid percutios at the orcs taking down a large number of them, before attacking his first orc in close combat. As the orc slashed wildly, Harry sidestepped, before cutting the orc's head off. He stabbed one, before twirling around and cutting anothers stomach, landing a death blow. After a few seconds, the aforementioned cave troll entered, swinging wildly at Sam who ran beneath it's legs. As it bent it's head to follow Sam's movement, Harry leapt at it, landing a glancing blow on the back of it's neck, before using it's head as a springboard to jump away and immediately engage another two orcs. Quickly dispatching them, he looked and saw the troll bleeding slightly from it's cut and about to smash Gimli into the ground. Before Harry could react, however, Legolas fired two arrows into it's chest, knocking it back. The troll swung it's chain at Legolas who ducked before attacking with an overhand, which Legolas sidestepped. Once more, it swung it chain wildly at Legolas who had positioned himself so it would wrap around a pillar. Legolas then ran up the chain like a tightrope before landing on it's head and firing an arrow into the crown of the creatures head. As it reared up, Harry sent an overpowered diffindo into it's exposed jugular causing it to topple over, dead.

Despite it's death, there were still orcs, including a few attacking Sam, who was close to Harry. Running over, he swung his blade at an orc, killing it and turned towards Sam who had just hit an orc on the head with a frying pan.

Seeing Harry's gaze, the stout hobbit remarked, "I think I'm getting the hang of this."

Without their main threat, the orcs were quickly dispatched and the group allowed themselves to catch a breather.

"You killed a troll." said Frodo with a slight amount of awe and fear in his voice.

"It annoyed me." remarked Harry wryly. "But it's not like it was my first. Me and my friend Ron beat a troll when we were 11. Of course we knocked it out with it's own club, but still, it's the thought that counts."

Legolas turned to the door. "More are coming."  
"To the Bridge of Khazad-Dúm!" commanded Gandalf before leading the group away at a sprint, quickly followed by a mass amount of orcs, who were crawling out the ground and ceiling. The orcs were able to overtake the Fellowship who were slowed by the hobbits, and encircled the group and formed up to face in every direction.

"Frodo. Get behind me." commanded Harry to the hobbit beside him, who obliged. A standoff ensued as each party tried to look as ferocious as possible, but just as one of the orcs seemed about to attack, a growling was heard from one of the exits of the hall, where a red light was appearing, from which the orcs fled from in terror.

"Why do I get the feeling that thing's not an ally?" asked Harry curiously.

"What is this new devilry?" asked Boromir worridly to Gandalf who looked extremely old all of a sudden.

The old Istari closed his eyes in concentration before opening them. "A Balrog. A demon of the ancient world. This foe is beyond any of you. Run!"

As the Fellowship followed Gandalf, Harry stayed behind for a minute. "A Balrog is a demon of fire. Water. Aquamenti, Glacius, Depulso." he cried as he sent huge blocks of ice towards where the Balrog would soon appear, hoping to delay it. Aiming carefully at the pillars at the far end of the hall, Harry yelled, "Reducto! Reducto! Reducto!" causing huge chunks of the pillar to break off, creating obstacles, which Harry quickly transfigured a dragon and a rhino, before yelling, "Opugno!" while concentrating on the Balrog. Seeing the animals race off, Harry smiled. He had done his part, before he turned and sprinted after the Fellowship, quickly catching up with Aragorn who was running behind the hobbits. "Where were you?"  
"Delaying it." replied Harry, as they entered a side passage and headed down the stairs. He and Harry stopped beside Gandalf who looked weary.

"This bridge is near. Lead them on Aragorn." commanded Gandalf, however the ranger attempted to disobey and pull Gandalf with him.

"Do as I say! Swords are no more use here."

As the Fellowship ran forward, they reached a gap in the steps, which Legolas quickly jumped and then turned to catch Gandalf as he jumped. However as Gandalf landed, arrows began to be fired at the Fellowship, forcing Legolas to return fire.

Boromir grabbed Merry and Pippin and jumped the gap, Harry followed suit, grabbing Frodo who was beside him and jumping, as he jumped the stairs he had been standing on collapsed, elongating the distance. Aragorn turned to Sam and forcibly throw him across the gap, before looking at Gimli who held up his hand saying, "Nobody tosses a Dwarf." before leaping himself, nearly reaching it and beginning to slip off the side before Legolas caught his beard, forcing Gimli to shout, "Not the beard!"

More of the stairs fell away leaving a gap an Olympic Long Jumper would have struggled with.

"Locomotor Motis." yelled Harry as he aimed at Frodo who began to float into the air and over the gap. Seeing the surprised looks on the others faces, he shrugged, "Magic's better for more than just war." before doing the same to Aragorn.

As they were all across the gap, they turned and began to run away even as the Balrog began to force his way through the side passage the Fellowship had just taken. They came to another hall where one end was blocked by fire, luckily they were going the other way and sprinted off with Gandalf taking up the rear. Looking back, Harry could see the Balrog form from the fire. "How the hell...?" he asked the air.

Suddenly, they reached the bridge and were forced to slow down to cross the narrow path, but as the rest crossed over, Gandalf stopped half way across the bridge and turned to face the Balrog. "You cannot pass! I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor. The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udún!" As he spoke he raised his staff, forming a shield from which the Balrogs flaming sword bounced off leaving the Balrog disarmed momentarily.

"Go back to the Shadow." The Balrog put a foot upon the bridge and brandished a whip, smashing it against the underside of the bridge. "You shall not pass!" yelled Gandalf, before slamming both staff and sword down to hit the bridge, from which a white smoke appeared. The Balrog took another step onto the bridge which crumbled beneath him, causing him to fall. Gandalf turned, a smile on his face, before the Balrog's whip flew up and wrapped around his ankle pulling him down, however he clung to the bridge for a minute. Frodo made to rush to Gandalf but was stopped by Harry, as Gandalf looked up at them saying, "Fly, you fools." before releasing his grip on the bridge.

Even as the others fled from the scene, Aragorn stood still, shocked by what he had seen, not hearing the cries of the others. Harry grabbed his arm and pulled. "Come on, you idiot. Run."

They ran up the stairs together and turned for one last look at where Gandalf had fallen and where Goblins where already standing firing at the duo, before leaving.

They made their way out of the Mines of Moria into the daybreak, and a short distance away, a number of the Fellowship fell to the ground while the rest had disbelieving faces as they grieved. Aragorn wiped his blade and spoke to Harry, "We must go." before turning around, "Legolas, get them up."  
Legolas slowly began to walk over to the others, but Boromir spoke up, "Give them a moment, for pity's sake!"

"By nightfall, these hills will be swarming with Orcs. We must reach the woods of Lothlorien. Come, Boromir. Legolas, Gimli, get them up."

Looking around, Aragorn shouted, "Frodo!" who had walked some distance away but turned at his name being called with such a look of mourning and despair on his face.

"Harry, come." Aragorn yelled to the wizard who was waving his wand at the stones, which began to form up into two Golems.

"They will attack anything that comes out that gate, might slow them a little. But I can do no more."

**I know, this was a great time to change something big, like Gandalf falling, but I know it had to happen for a part in the second movie to happen. Don't worry though, more things will begin to change. But, please review and tell me what you think!**


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter. They belong to the Tolkien family and J.K. Rowling.

A/N: Who owns Lord of the Rings at the moment? Because I'm just saying the Tolkien Family and I want to be more specific.

Chapter 11

As they ran, Harry fell in behind the hobbits, barely managing to keep pace with the people who stood 2 feet shorter than he did. Sam looked at him in worry as they crossed a field just before the Woods of Lothlorien began.

"Are you alright, Mr. Harry?" he asked worridly.

Harry smiled at the young hobbit, "I'm fine, Sam, just magic takes it out of me. Very tiring and what I did outside the Mines of Moria was extremely complicated and draining. A small sleep and I'm be right as rain."

Sam looked at him, obviously not convinced as to Harry's health, but dutifully turned away from Harry. Closing his eyes as they entered the Woods of Lothlorien, he gathered his energy realising there was quite some distance left to go.

As they made their way deeper into the forest, they slowed to a walk as Gimli decided to give some advice to the hobbits.

"Stay close. They say a great socreress lives in these woods. An Elf-witch of terrible power. All who look upon her fall under her spell." As he finished that last sentence, Frodo looked around startled, causing Harry, who had regained some strength, to smile. Gimli continued, "And are never seen again. Well, here's one Dwarf she won't ensnare so easily."

As Gimli spoke, Harry began to look around and spotted some signs of movement. Stretching slightly, he moved his wand so that it would come into his hand in an instant even as his right hand began straying slightly towards his sword.

Gimli continued on, oblivious to the danger, "I have the eyes of a hawk and the ears of a fox." Just as he finished a number of people stepped out of the woods, pointing bows at every member of the Fellowship. Having expected the danger, Harry reacted instantly, his wand flowing into his left hand and aiming straight at one of his adversaries on his left and his sword went flying out into his right hand in a blur and swund at the person to his right, knocking their bow aside and touching their neck with the tip of his blade, even as he incanted, "Expelliarmus." sending the bow flying out of the hands of the person on his left.

He spoke to them, "Drop your weapons and step back." even as he looked around, seeing every other member of the Fellowship taken off guard except for Legolas who was aiming his bow between two of their ambushers who Harry could now see were Elves.

A vaguely familiar Elf stepped forward, "The Dwarf breathes so loud, we could have shot him in the dark." causing Gimli to glare at him.

Aragorn bowed slightly, saying "Haldir of Lorien." before continuing in Sindarin, "We come here for help. We need your protection."

Gimli spoke up, "These woods are perilous. We should go back."  
Haldir answered him, "You have entered the realm of the Lady of the Wood. You cannot go back." He then looked at Frodo, before continuing, "Come. She is waiting."

Harry sheathed his weapons, before nodding at the two Elves he had disarmed. Striding forward, he moved to Frodo's side who was looking ahead morosely.

"You bear the guilt of Gandalf's passing on your shoulders." Harry said. It was more of a statement than an accusation.

Frodo looked at him, "But for me, he would still be alive."

"A wise man once told me. Mourn for the dead, or take care of the living." Harry replied.

Frodo looked unconvinced, and so Harry continued, "You are standing in a room with two doors forward. The one on the right has a lion and you are unarmed. The one of the left is full of food. Which door do you take?"

Frodo looked at Harry confusedly, "The one on the left."

"I lied. The one on the right is empty, but the one on the left has a lion."

"What was the point of that story?"

"You made what you thought was the best decision at the time, which is all you can do." Frodo looked away with an odd look on his face, which Harry took as his dismissal before dropping back behind the hobbits. Eventually, they made their way into a strange city, where the houses seemed to have been made by the trees. It had a natural beauty to it, one which astounded those who had not been there before.

Haldir led them up a staircase which was built around a tree. As they made the long journey up, night fell before they reached the top. At the top was a hall, and the Fellowship was told to stand at the bottom of a small set of stairs. Two glowing elves, both of immense beauty, made their way down the stairs, before stopping a few steps before the bottom. As they descended, their ethereal glow faded. Then the male elf spoke, "Nine there are here, yet ten there were set out from Rivendell. Tell me, where is Gandalf? For I much desire to speak with him."  
The female elf, who Harry recognised as Galadriel, the Lady of Lothlorien, then spoke, "He has fallen into Shadow. The quest stands upon the edge of a knife. Stray but a little and it will fail to the ruin of all." before she paused and looked at the Fellowship, who one by one bowed their heads. Harry recognised what she was doing. She was testing them to see who was most likely to give up and so Harry resolutely held his head high. Galadriel quirked one corner of her mouth up, as though wishing to smile, before regaining control of herself and continuing, "Yet hope remains while the Company is true. Do not let your hearts be troubled. Go now and rest for you are weary with sorrow and much toil. Tonight, you will sleep."  
Haldir led them back down the spiralling staircase, to a small camp site, where a faint melody could be heard. Legolas spoke quietly, as though afraid to break it's spell.

"A lament for Gandalf."  
"What do they say about him?" asked Merry.

"I have not the heart to tell you. For me, the grief is still too near." was the mournful reply.

As Harry lay down, he could see Aragorn approaching Boromir and begin to speak to him. Closing his eyes, Harry tried to sleep, something which came easily to him, despite the conversation of the Hobbits about Gandalf's fireworks.

The next day, they set out in boats filled with provisions given by the elves, Aragorn, Sam and Frodo were in one boat, Boromir, Pippin and Merry in another, while Legolas, Gimli and Harry were in the last. As they left the harbour, Galadriel waved to them, and Legolas spoke to Gimli, "What gift did the Lady give to you?"

Gimli was silent for a time, before he replied, "I asked her for a single hair. She gave me three."  
Legolas smiled, realising Gimli was another who had been smitten by the beautiful Elf. As Gimli became lost in his thoughts, Legolas spoke to Harry, "She gave me a bow she made herself. What did she give you?"  
Harry thought back to that morning when they had recieved their gifts.

*FLASHBACK*

"What gift can I give to you, young wizard?" asked Galadriel.

Looking over at the rest of the Fellowship, who were looking at their own gifts in awe and then to Aragorn who had been taken away by Celeborn who spoke to him and then gave him a dagger, he smiled before turning back to the Elf who had decided to speak to him in private. "What more can I ask, when already I am blessed with such great friends?"

The Elf smiled back at him, before giving a slight laugh, "Young Harry, you haven't changed much since you entered this world. You are still so modest, so optimistic about everything. How odd it is that you, who is more deserving of a gift than any other, asks for none. You have already fought and beaten a Dark Lord, and now you fight another when you could so easily join it. Why do you fight for a people who, with exception of the Rohirrim and a few others, have shunned you? There are no people here with whom you share blood.

"I fight because it is all I can do. I fight for what is good and pure so that when I die, I can look at my friends and family in the eye, knowing that I learned the lessons they had to teach and did what I thought was right. But mostly, I do it because I could not live with myself if I did not. Behind me are 8 good people, who are divided by race, but fight together, facing death so that this war can end. Seeing what they are willing to do, how can I do anything but help?"  
Galadriel smiled at him, "I tell you this. You are a good man, you deserve to be at peace and to be accepted by everyone, to be hailed as a hero, but even though you are not, you still toil away as though by sheer willpower you can save this world. I have no gift worthy of you. If this Fellowship succeeds, there is no guarantee you will be happy. There are many paths you can tread, some in which you die before Sauron is beaten, some in which Sauron is reborn and destroys you, and some in which you die so that Sauron is defeated. I ask you this question, are you willing to sacrifice everything for a people who will forget what you do for them?"  
Harry thought for a moment, before replying, "It is in the manner of all things to have a beginning and an ending, and so it is natural for all people to die eventually, the only question is how and why? Every man dies at some time, but few ever truly live before they do. I have lived and am ready to die. I will do my best so that my death has a meaning for someone."

Galadriel looked away, and then spoke again, "The only gift I can give you is this; when this journey is over, for good or worse, you shall be given the choice to be able to return to your home world and live out the rest of your life in peace."  
Harry looked at her astonished, "Is that possible?"  
"The Valar brought you here and can send you home." Galadriel smiled, and continued, "Go, your company are preparing to leave."

*END FLASHBACK*

"Harry?" asked Legolas.

"A way home."

**I rewrote this five times before finally deciding to stick with this. Please review.**


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter, they belong to J.R.R. Tolkien and J.K. Rowling.

Chapter 12

Slowly, the three Elvin boats and their passengers made their way down the river. In Harry's boat, a comfortable silence had descended upon the trio of wizard, elf and dwarf, Harry lost in memories of his home and Galadriel's offer reverberated around his mind, Gimli was remembering the beauty of Galadriel in the knowledge he would never see her again and Legolas was simply enjoying the sights from the river.

Later that day, Legolas' head suddenly shot to the left as he looked at the forest on the bank. This sudden movement startled the others in the boat who looked at Legolas and upon seeing the frown on his face, Harry asked, "Something wrong, Legolas?""Just a bad feeling." was the worried reply. "Tell me, Harry, what is your homeland like and how did you get so far away from home, you need a ringbearer's aid to return?"

Harry smiled and began to think of what to say, before beginning, "It is a great place, but there, there are no dwarfs and no elves like those here, and magical creatures and the non-magical people, known as muggles, are separated because of fear. Wizards were prosecuted by muggles long ago and so are afraid of them. My parents were killed by a Dark Lord named Voldemort, who was ripped from his body when he tried to kill me. Sound familiar? Anyway, I lived with my aunt and uncle who knew of magic and both hated and feared it, and when I was 11 I went to school. There, I met some great friends, Ron and Hermione, and fought Voldemort a few times. Eventually, Voldemort became powerful again and rose up against the Magical World. After denying it for a year, our leaders decide to acknowledge Voldemort and fight against him. However, Voldemort had built up an army and was able to fight back. I defeated him when I was 19, and was brought here because the Valor thought I would be helpful against Sauron, probably because of my history. Voldemort decimated the magical people, before Voldemort rose to power there were a total of 300 million magical creature in the world, but when I finally defeated him, there were under 1,000 wizards in the world, alongside 25,000 magical creatures. The war was brutal and claimed many lives.""It doesn't sound like a great place." replied Gimli in his gruff voice. "Why do you want to return?""I have friends there, and although it may not seem it, it is a wonderful but terrifying place, filled with people who have lost everything but aren't making excuses but are simply trying to rebuild what they can. It was a beautiful place, with many happy memories, and it is the place I grew up. It will always have a special place in my heart." as Harry finished his monologue, he lapsed back into silence, once more enraptured in the memories of his homeland.

"Oh, look." remarked Legolas. "The Argonath, the kings of old.""And Aragorn's ancestors." finished Harry.

"A dwarf would have made a better statue." said Gimli.

"But he didn't." was Harry's wry remark.

As they continued their journey down the river, the conversation turned from it's melancholy conversation to witty bantering between Legolas and Gimli about which was better, Dwarves or Elves, and their sarcastic jibes at each other were quite entertaining for Harry, until after a particular hilarious comment from Legolas had caused Harry to snort rather loudly.

Both debaters' turned to glare at Harry and Gimli asked, "So, Wizard, what's better? A dwarf or an elf?""Well, Gimli, while a Dwarf might be stockier and better at forging, an Elf can live forever and see farther than any race." Here, Legolas smirked at Gimli, before Harry continued, "So I'm going to have to say Wizards."

The shocked look on Legolas' face caused Gimli to burst out laughing. Moments later, the boats were pulling up onto the shore and Gimli was still struggling to control himself and stop laughing, causing the other members of the Fellowship to look at the normally stoic dwarf weirdly. Aragorn got off his boat, saying, "Begin removing the necessary supplies for tonight off the boats."Harry hastened to do so, eager to satisfy the hunger that had been gnawing at him all day. A short time later, Aragorn spoke up once more, explaining what their plan of action would be, "We cross the lake at nightfall. We'll hide the boats and continue on foot. We'll approach Mordor from the North."

At this, the now recovered Gimli retorted, "Oh yes? Just a simple matter of finding our way through Emyn Muil, an impassable labyrinth of razor-sharp rocks.""It's not impossible, Aragorn and I have done it before, admittedly not while guiding others, but it can be done." replied Harry.

Gimli glared at him and said, "That may be, but there is a festering, stinking marshland as far the eye can see to cross.""That is our road." stated Aragorn.

"But it's good to see you're so optimistic about the path ahead, Gimli." added Harry sarcastically.

Aragorn continued angry at Gimli for worrying the hobbits who had been listening in, "I suggest you take some rest and recover your strength, Master Dwarf.""Recover my-" mumbled Gimli furiously.

Just then Legolas approached Aragorn and Harry, "We should leave now.""No." replied Aragorn commendably. "Orcs patrol the eastern shore. We must wait for cover of darkness.""It is not the eastern shore that worries me." replied Legolas.

"I agree with Legolas, something feels...off about here, as though something has upset the natural order of things." added Harry

"A shadow and a threat has been growing in my mind." continued Legolas, as he and Harry teamed up against Aragorn. "Something draws near. I can feel it."As Legolas finished, Merry returned from gathering firewood, before looking around and asking, "Where's Frodo?"

As Merry spoke, Harry spotted Boromir's shield beside his pallet, but Boromir was nowhere to be seen. "Boromir's gone as well."

"Oh no." muttered Aragorn. "Everyone spread out and look for him."Harry ran out of the camp and found large footprints that had made a deep imprint in the ground, realising they belonged to Boromir, he leapt to the conclusion that Boromir had succumbed to the will of the ring and had most likely attempted to take the ring from Frodo after following him out of the camp. Realising this, Harry decided to follow Boromir's trail, which was quite easy as Boromir was no woodsman and so left an easy trail. A short time later, he crossed paths with Aragorn.

"Hello. Any luck?" asked Harry.

Aragorn turned to Harry, "I found Frodo's trail a short while back and followed them here, as best I can gather Frodo and Boromir were here at the same time and had a short scuffle of some sort.""Boromir tried to take the ring." Harry hypothesised."I would assume so. Then their paths diverge as though Boromir couldn't see Frodo anymore.""Frodo put on the ring.""Yes, I think so.""I'll go after Frodo and bring him back to the shore. You go after Boromir and see what's wrong with him and if he's O.K. now. Be careful Aragorn, something evil is near."

"Same to you, old friend."

Harry strode forward to where Aragorn had been kneeling and began to follow Frodo's path. Frodo being much lighter than Boromir left a less obvious trail, but it was still easy for Harry to read, and also most people who had spent time in the wild evading pursuit. Eventually, he reached a cliff with a stone shelter sticking out of the ground, obviously the remains of a house of some sort. At the side of the building, he saw Frodo lying on the ground and ran over to him, "Frodo, are you O.K?"

Frodo stood up and began to retreat around the building, saying, "It has taken Boromir. How do I know it won't take you?""Where is the ring, Frodo?" asked Harry with a tone of frustration in his voice. Frodo took this as something more menacing than was meant and began to retreat faster, crying, "Stay away."

Harry began to follow. "Frodo. I told you I would protect you, and when I say something, I mean it.""Can you protect me from yourself?"

"I will not hurt you."

At Harry's words, Frodo drew his hand out of his pocket and opened his hand, revealing the ring.

_"Hello Harry Potter. I have been waiting for you for a long time. Together we can do anything. We can bring back your family, your friends, we can destroy death. Simply take me from the hobbit."_

Slowly, Harry walked forward in a daze with a small smile on his face. "My family." he thought. "My friends. Ron. Hermione. Neville. Luna. Ginny. The ring can bring them all back, even my parents."_"Yes, Harry, even your mother and father. Nothing is impossible to those who have enough power and the will to wield it."_

"My mum, dad." thought Harry before remembering another promise made to him about bringing his parents back to life. "Except that time, he wanted me to hand him a stone." As he thought of Lord Voldemort, his mind made a number of connection. "Voldemort. Dark Lord. Sauron. The ring."

Suddenly, he realised he was reaching out his hand for the ring which Frodo had been about to give him, the ring he had sworn to see destroyed. He stopped himself, and knelt before Frodo. "It nearly took me. This is not my task, I do not have the qualities necessary. You do. You can do this." While saying this, he closed Frodo's hand around the ring and looked into Frodo's sad eyes. At that time, Harry remembered his childhood and how he had been so eager to help everyone else at his own expense and suddenly realised what Frodo was going to do. He was going on alone.

"I would have gone with you to the end. I would have spat in the Eye of Sauron as you destroyed the ring."Despite the topic of the conversation, Frodo smiled, "I know. Take care of the others, they will not understand, especially Sam."

"Frodo, do you know what a crucible is?"

"No." replied Frodo confusedly.

"It is the time in your life when you will be sorely tested, beyond anything else you will ever do. It is when you learn what you're made of, when you must make the decision to do what is right or what is easy, to stand and fight or to run and hide. It is easy to run, it is easy to hide, but if you do, if you run from death, you will live another day, another year, maybe another decade and maybe you'll get lucky and have a family and a home and the respect, but eventually you will die anyway, and to your dying day, you'll regret running, you'll regret hiding, and as you lie dying, odds are you'd trade everything you had to go to back and change your decision. To fight and stand up to world, telling it, "I will not break. I will not surrender." Everyone has the ability to pass their crucible, they simply have to keep pushing forward, roll with the blow life deals you and get back on your fight and keep moving forward. I tell you, you can pass your crucible. So pass it." Finished Harry inspiringly. Looking down at Frodo, he saw a small smile on his face, and a gleam of confidence in his eyes that hadn't been there before. He could also see his sword glowing slightly, and his eyes widened as he turned and drew his sword and wand. "Run, Frodo. You must finish your task. Go."

Harry heard a rustle behind him as Frodo fled back to the boats to continue his quest upon which the fate of Middle Earth hung. Slowly, he strode forward and around the corner of the stone building to come face to face with several hundred Uruk-hai, a breed of stronger and faster Orcs. As he stopped, the Uruk-hai stared at him.

Suddenly, Harry waved his wand, sending out spells rapidly, transfiguring nearby branches and stones into various animals, such as lions, jaguars, tigers and bears, that arrayed themselves behind Harry. Then Harry cried out, "Avis, engorgio, opugno." causing enlarged birds to appear, and then all the animals he had summoned to attack. He charged at the Uruk-hai, firing off bone-breakers as he went, and as he came within 5 metres of the Uruk-hai, who had just been engaged by the animals Harry had conjured, he sheathed his wand so as not to run the risk of it breaking. He hefted his sword with both hands before swinging at an Uruk-hai in front of him, chopping it's head off. Turning he saw an enemy that had turned it's back on him as it fought a bear, he hamstringed it, bringing it to the ground where it was then killed, before turning and engaging another Uruk-hai, knocking it off balance before stabbing it in the heart and pulling his sword back out in time to block an attack, before slicing the opposing Uruk-hai in the stomach and attacking another. Slowly, his animals were dying and Harry was forced back around the corner to where he had spoken with Frodo. Seeing stairs to his left, he ran up them to reach the roof of the building quickly, and turned to face a number of Uruk-hai who charging after him. Quickly, he dispatched the first few, only for more and more to charge up the stairs, threatening to push him off the edge of the roof. Eventually, he slew another which opened up a gap he ran through and jumped off the edge of the roof, crushing an Uruk-hai who had been following the trail Frodo had left, before being assaulted by more Uruk-hai. Just then, Legolas and Gimli appeared, immediately using ranged weapons on the Uruk-hai before Gimli attacked with his battle-axe. Legolas and Gimli began attacking the Uruk-hai, and together the trio managed to hold the Uruk-hai back for a moment, before Legolas cried, "Harry. Some have managed to get past us, go after them. We have to protect the hobbits."Harry nodded to Legolas before running after the Uruk-hai who had managed to begin following Frodo before the Elvin and Dwarven duo arrived. Harry began sprinting in pursuit of the Uruk-hai, and saw Frodo ahead trying to get out of sight behind a tree. Immediately, Harry drew his wand and fired a bone-twister at the leading Uruk-hai, killing him and causing the other Uruk-hai to turn to face him. As Harry was once more in close quarter fighting, he sheathed his wand and fought again with his sword. The Uruk-hai drove Harry back towards a bridge, even as he decimated their numbers. As Harry killed an Uruk-hai, another managed to pin him up against the wall, and was too close for Harry's longsword to be of any use. As the Uruk-hai began to suffocate Harry, he pulled a knife out his belt and stabbed the Uruk-hai in the neck, killing it. He offered up a prayer to whatever deity had made him bring a knife with him, it wasn't even a dagger but a plain old cooking knife. There and then, Harry resolved to get a couple of daggers and long knives, just in case. In the distance, Harry could see that Legolas had swapped to using dual long knives, much like ones Harry would like, but before he could contemplate this any longer, he was engaged by another enemy which was quickly dispatched.

Then, he heard it. The horn of Gondor, sounded only when the bearer was in great need. "Boromir." cried Harry, having a great liking for the man despite the fact the Ring overpowered his will. "Come Legolas, Gimli, Boromir needs us." As he spoke, he began running in the direction of the noise, killing as he went, unwilling to have an enemy at his back if he could help it.

"Where's Aragorn?" asked Gimli as he hewed the neck of another Uruk-hai.

"We split up earlier, he's following Boromir so he should be able to help him. But we'll go just incase." replied Harry. After hearing the horn of Gondor sound another few times, and dispatching numerous enemies, Harry finally entered a clearing where he saw Aragorn surrounded by enemies and Boromir leaning against a tree trying to fend off an Uruk-hai. From the looks of things, Boromir was struggling to stand as several feathered arrows stuck out of his chest. Ahead, Harry could see Uruk-hai fleeing, and thankful for his good luck, Harry began to cast spells using his just unsheathed wand, crying, "Percutio! Reducto! Ossidium Fragnum" The simple chain took 4 seconds to cast, and was capable of killing 3 enemies a chain, Harry had plenty of experience with it and quickly killed the Uruk-hai surrounding Aragorn and the lone Uruk-hai against Boromir. Turning around, Harry couldn't see any other Uruk-hai, although he saw Legolas and Gimli arriving in the clearing. Using his peripheral vision, Harry spotted Boromir fall to the ground, and Aragorn run over to him. Sensing their conversation was a private one, Harry waited a respectful distance away waiting for a pause before approaching.

"Harry, can you do anything to help?" asked Aragorn.

"My knowledge of healing spells is very limited, but I'll see what I can do." replied Harry, as he knelt beside Boromir. He summoned the two arrows out of Boromir's chest and immediately cast, "Episkey." which was a general healing charm designed to close wounds. It worked slightly here, and so Harry repeated it a few more times, to no effect. As he raised his wand to try again, Boromir's hand shot up to grab his wrist, his hold surprisingly tight, "Don't. This is my time, I can feel it."

Obeying Boromir's wish, Harry sheathed his wand and waited beside Boromir as the light slowly left his eyes. "Come." said Aragorn. "We shall carry him back to our camp and send him over the waterfall. It is the only burial we can prepare for him in the amount of time we have."

"What happened Merry and Pippin? Anyone seen them or Frodo and Sam?" asked Gimli.

"Merry and Pippin were captured by the Uruk-hai. Boromir and I could not protect them." replied Aragorn.

"Frodo has returned to camp and is going to cross the river, I believe Sam is with him." added Harry.

Slowly, the two men, the Elf and the Dwarf picked up their fallen comrade and bore him back to their camp on their shoulders as a few tears strolled down their cheeks.

They placed him the boat with his weapons and belongings, after Harry and Aragorn removed one small thing each to remember Boromir by, as was custom, Aragorn taking his wristguards and Harry taking one of his daggers. Harry pushed his boat out to sea, and turned back to Aragorn after watching the boat falling over the waterfall.

Legolas pushed the last boat out to the water's edge and said, "Hurry! Frodo and Sam have reached the eastern shore. I'm sure the boat can carry us all."

Harry and Aragorn shared a look, which caused Legolas to say, "You mean not to follow them."

Aragorn replied, "Frodo's fate is no longer in our hands."

"He will continue this journey with Sam, and perhaps two hobbits will succeed where we would have failed." added Harry.

"Then it has all been in vain. The Fellowship has failed." said Gimli despondently.

Aragorn stood and faced Legolas and Gimli, saying, "Not if we hold true to each other. We will not abandon Merry and Pippin to torment and death. Not while we have strength left."

"It has been a long time since Man, Elf and Dwarf have been united for a single cause. Let the Uruk-hai learn to fear us once more." growled Harry.

"That's the spirit, Harry. We'll travel light, so leave all that can be spared behind. Let us hunt some Orc." finished Aragorn inspiringly.

Aragorn then turned and began to run after the Uruk-hai, and Legolas, Gimli and Harry soon followed, with Harry inwardly wondering on the sudden change in Aragorn's demeanour. He suddenly had a presence about himself, as though he now realised he was the heir to the throne of Gondor. Harry smiled evilly, "These Uruk-hai won't know what hit them."

**Sorry about the delay, I started school and was trying to get back into the rhythm of things before writing. Fall behind at the beginning and it's very hard to catch up, but as always read and review. To make up for the delay, I decided to post a longer than normal chapter, and feel very privileged, this is the longest chapter I have ever written.**


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I still do not own Harry Potter or the Lord of the Rings, they belong to JRR Tolkien, or his family, and JK Rowling. I also highly doubt that I will ever be lucky enough to own the rights to either.

Chapter 13

Three days passed with Harry, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli constantly following the extremely obvious trail of the Uruk-hai. Three days passed in which the four of them got no sleep for fear of falling behind, instead relying on what light Harry could provide. Three days passed in which only _lembas _bread was eaten by the four of them, all of whom drank sparingly from their water canteens. Three days passed in which Gimli lagged behind slightly as the rest ran on ahead, scouting for the trail, checking to see if anything was in front of them. Three days passed where little was said as all tried to preserve as much oxygen as possible so they could run for longer without stopping to rest for a precious few minutes. And now, Harry sat near Aragorn who was lying on the ground, listening to the vibrations in the ground, hoping to be able to judge the distance between the hunters and the hunted.

"Their pace has quickened. They must have caught our scent. Hurry!" muttered Aragorn as he stood, before calling to Legolas and Gimli, who had both fallen behind a bit.

"That's good, if they can smell us, they can't be too far away." replied Harry. "We're getting closer.""Yes, but we gained on them because they weren't travelling full speed, confident in their victory." rebuked Aragorn, before breathing deeply and beginning to run. Harry turned back to see Legolas climbing up the short hill Harry and Aragorn had been standing on.

"Come on, Gimli!" cried the fair haired elf.

Harry waited for Gimli, who was gasping as he made his way up the mountain. Over the past three days, Harry had gained a deep respect for Gimli, the dwarf was shorter, and so had shorter legs, meaning he had to run more to keep up with the others, add that to the fact that Dwarves were not naturally long distance runners and it meant the dwarf was struggling to keep up, but would not give up. Harry smiled as he pondered the stubbornness of dwarves, this one in particular who refused to give up.

"Three days and nights pursuit. No food. No rest. And no sign of our quarry, but what bare rock can tell." Gimli's mutterings caused Harry to laugh slightly.

"We're gaining on them Gimli. Not much further now." laughed Harry, before turning and chasing after the others.

The four hunters travelled on, up and down hills, across plains and rocky mountainsides, and in long grassy valleys, where the grass had been flattened by the Uruk-hai's feet.

Harry ran through another valley, and spotted Legolas in front of him, as Aragorn knelt to the ground and picked something out of the grass.

"Not idly do the leaves of Lorien fall." Aragorn's whispered voice drifted back to Harry with the wind.

"They may yet be alive." Legolas' melodious voice held a hint of optimism that had been missing the past few days.

"That's what I've been saying all this time." remarked Harry as he reached the duo in front of him.

"Less than a day ahead of us. Come." exclaimed Aragorn.

"Seeing as we set chase after them less than a day after they took Merry and Pippin, that's not such good news." said Harry cynically.

"We had fallen behind slightly, Uruk-hai are much faster over mountains and rocky plains than us. But we will soon reach Rohan..." replied Aragorn.

"And on the grassy plain, we will catch them." continued Harry, as he looked behind him and saw Gimli fall down a hill.

Legolas shouted back at the dwarf, "Come, Gimli! We're gaining on them!"

"I'm wasted on cross-country. We Dwarves are natural sprinters. Very dangerous over short distances." defended the stout Dwarf.

"You'd run faster if you didn't keep wasting your breath by expelling hot air." gibed Harry.

"Coming from some funny looking wizard, I think I'll ignore that comment, for your own safety." replied Gimli wryly.

Harry, Aragorn and Legolas reached the top of a hill, and perched on top of a rock, before looking out on the grassy plain lands that had produced the greatest horse's and horsemen to have ever lived.

"Rohan." stated Aragorn. "Home of the Horse-Lords."

"And the one place on Middle Earth I would be proud to call my home." added Harry, with an air of melancholy about him.

Harry looked around himself, searching for something that had set him ill at ease.

"There's something strange at work here." said Aragorn ominously, as he too looked around, verbalising the feeling Harry had. "Some evil gives speed to these creatures. Sets it's will against us."Following Aragorn's menacing words, the four headed onwards, hoping to make further gains upon the Uruk-hai.

As they ran along rocky hills, Harry, Aragorn and Gimli fell behind Legolas, whose Elvin attributes allowed him to transverse the treacherous terrain easier.

Aragorn shouted to Legolas, who was standing on a hill in front of them, his vantage point enabling him to see dozens of miles in front. "Legolas! What do your Elf-eyes see?"

"The Uruk's turn northeast. They are taking the hobbits to Isengard.""Saruman." exclaimed Aragorn, before looking at Harry with a question in his eyes.

"One on one, I should be able to fight Saruman, and if not beat him, at least hold him to a draw. The real problem is the number of troops he will have at Isengard." answered Harry.

Aragorn sighed, before nodding, "Then we must reach the Uruk-hai before they get to Isengard."

They made good time that day and night, the grass beneath their feet helpful in maintaining their speed. The silence upon the four hunters was rarely broken, except for a few inane comments. As the red sun rose, Legolas stopped and looked at it. "A red sun rises. Blood has been spilt this night."

Harry ran beside Legolas, saying, "Blood is spilt most nights in these perilous times.""More blood than normal, my friend. This omen should not be ignored."

As they crested another hill, Aragorn stopped and looked at the ground. As one, they heard the neigh of a horse on the other side of the hill to their left. Aragorn signalled to the others, and ran behind a rock. Harry, Legolas and Gimli followed, although Harry was muttering about why they had to hide from the Rohirrim, with whom he had long been friends with. Looking around the rock, they saw a large number of horsemen travelling quickly crest the hill and continue onwards.

"They do not know they are here. I do not know whether to be happy at our good fortune, or sad for their ignorance." commented Legolas.

"The horses sense we are friends and do not alert them to our presence. If we meant them harm, they would react." said Harry as he defended his friends honour.

As the last rider passed the rock behind which the group had hidden, Aragorn stood up and marched forward, crying aloud, "Riders of Rohan, what news from the Mark?"

The leader of the patrol made a signal with his spear, and as one his men made a U-turn and quickly surrounded the four travellers.

"Aragorn, I have spent more time with these people than you, so, be silent." commanded Harry.

As Harry finished speaking, and Aragorn nodded, the horsemen encircled the four of them, and pointed their spears at them, ready to skewer them if they reacted badly. A gap appeared in the circle as the leader rode through.

"What business does an Elf, a Dwarf and two men have in the Riddermark?" He asked, although his vaguely familiar voice held hints that refusal to answer this question would not be well received. "Speak quickly!"

"Give me your name, horse-master, and I shall give you mine." said Gimli imperiously.

Harry groaned slightly, as said horse-master dismounted his horse and approached Gimli. "I would cut off your head, Dwarf, if it stood but a little higher from the ground." he snarled.

Legolas reacted instantly, drawing bow and arrow and aiming at the man. "You would die before your stroke fell." causing the riders to immediately place their spears around Legolas.

Harry stepped forward, causing the riders to get slightly more edgy. "I have long been welcome in these parts. I am friend both to the Rohirrim and to Théoden." as he pushed down Legolas' bow, commanding him to calm down with his eyes.

"You have not answered my question, travellers." accused the leader.

His voice, which already was sounding bells in Harry's head, triggered a flashback.

FLASHBACK

Harry woke. There was a silence around him, cloaking him as easily as the darkness did. Once more Harry cursed the fact Aragorn was staying in Lothlorien with Arwen. The sudden snapping of a twig caused Harry to fling himself to his feet drawing his wand and sword. A whispered incantation caused the campsite to light up, revealing a dozen men surrounding him. The men, upon seeing Harry armed, drew their own weapons and leapt at Harry. A silent banishing charm at the ground later, and Harry was standing on top a rock. "That was a grave mistake, boys." remarked Harry.

One of the men threw a spear at Harry, who dodged to the side and grabbed the spear, dropping his own sword in the process. Harry sheathed his wand and smiled, wielding his newly acquired spear two-headedly, Harry leapt among the men, swinging wildly, knocking them back even as he subtly wielded magic to cause his assailant's to trip and stumble. His inexperience with his weapon compared to his enemies showed, as a short while later he was leaning against the rock, keeping his enemies at bay.

One man stepped forward, and asked, "Why did you attack us?""You attacked me first." replied Harry.

"Why are you travelling in my lands?" queried the man.

"I am a traveller." replied Harry wryly.

"You have not answered my question, why are you travelling in my lands."

"I wanted to get to the other side." answered Harry, remembering a common joke from when he was a child.

"You have some skill with weapons." stated the man, as the corners of his mouth quirked up slightly, betraying his amusement. "I am Éomund. You are?"

"Harry Potter."

END FLASHBACK

"You are Éomer, son of Éomund." remarked Harry, causing the just names Éomer to start.

"How did you know?" asked Éomer confusedly.

"I know everything," replied Harry. "I was friends with your father, and uncle. This is Gimli, son of Gloin, and Legolas of the Woodland Realm. And this is Aragorn, son of Arathorn, I am Harry Potter, I have not seen you since you were a small boy of maybe 4 summers."

"Théoden no longer recognises friend from foe." answered Éomer as he removed his helmet. "Not even his own kin." Éomer's actions caused his men to put down their weapons, although a slight edginess in their movements betrayed the fact they could have them ready in an instant. "Saruman has poisoned the mind of the king and claimed lordship over these lands. My company are those loyal to Rohan. And for that, we are banished. If you are Harry Potter, who my mother and uncle spoke of, perhaps you can help these lands.""I shall do my best." replied Harry.

"The White Wizard is cunning. He walks here and there, they say, as an old man, hooded and cloaked. And everywhere, his spies slip past our nets.""We are no spies," exclaimed Aragorn, who was the only member of the company yet to say anything. "We track a party of Uruk-hai westward across the plain. They have taken two of our friends captive."

"The Uruks are destroyed, we slaughtered them during the night." replied Éomer morbidly.

"But there were two hobbits." exclaimed Gimli. "Did you see two Hobbits with them?"

"They would be small. Only children to your eyes." continued Aragorn.

"We left none alive. We piled the carcasses and burnt them." said Éomer, pointing in the distance where smoke could be seen.

"Dead?" asked Gimli.

"I am sorry." replied Éomer.

"If you did not see them, maybe they escaped amidst the battle." said Harry, realising he was clutching at straws.

"It was at the border of Fangorn Forest, even if they escaped, I would not hold out much hope for them." said Éomer, before turning and whistling. "Hasufel! Arod! Kell! May these horses bear you to better fortune than their former masters. Farewell.""Éomer?" said Harry. "Do not stray far from the borders of Rohan. If we cleanse Théoden's mind, Rohan will need you to defend it."

Éomer nodded.

**Aww, a nice little reunion between son and father's friend who the son doesn't remember. Don't you feel sorry for Harry and the others, thinking their friends are dead. Anyway, please review.**


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I still do not own Harry Potter or the Lord of the Rings, they belong to JRR Tolkien, or his family, and JK Rowling. I also highly doubt that I will ever be lucky enough to own the rights to either

Chapter 14

Harry, riding atop Kell, was silent, no witty comment to make, simply silent. Looking to the side, where Legolas and Gimli rode Arod and Aragorn rode Hasufel, he saw they were lost in their thoughts, most likely wondering what to do now. Up ahead, smoke was rising above the hill, showing the fire was either still burning or had just gone out. As they crested the final hill before the bonfire, a particular ugly Uruk-hai came into view. This Uruk-hai, unlike the others the fellowship had faced, was not dangerous, but was instead, mounted on a pike. Slowly, the group approached the bonfire and dismounted. Aragorn began looking around the heap of burnt bodies, Gimli began searching the heap and Harry and Legolas simply stood nearby, Legolas not knowing what to do, and Harry, trying to discern the odd feeling he had, that tickled the back of his throat.

"It's one of their wee belts." Gimli's solemn announcement drew the attention of everyone, who looked at the morbid dwarf holding up a holster that Galadriel had given to the two mischievous hobbits. Legolas closed his eyes and began to pray in his Elvish language, but was interrupted by Aragorn who kicked a helmet away before falling to his knees with a scream. It wasn't a word, but simply emotions, a heart wrenching sadness and a goosebump inducing anger. More than that though, it was a scream of defiance against the world.

"Maybe one of the Uruk-hai took it from Merry and Pippin. As a souvenir?" suggested Harry weakly. In his 86 years, Harry had seen much death and had grown accustomed to it, but maybe it was just his old rebelliousness coming back, but without bodies, Harry was unwilling to accept their death.

The others looked at him, their faces the very epitome of grief, enough to bring tears to the eyes of even the most hardened warrior. Harry bowed his head in response. At the edge of his vision, Harry could see Aragorn feeling the ground in front of him. "A hobbit lay here. And the other." he said dismally.

"Is it not enough that they are dead? Do we have to relive their last moments as well?" asked Legolas, as Aragorn leaned back onto his haunches.

"They crawled." whispered Aragorn, a hint of hope coming into his voice, something that crept into the faces of the others. Harry ran beside Aragorn, and began following the trail with him. "Their hands were bound." continued Aragorn.

"Their bonds were cut." shouted Harry, holding up rope. Now the group were gaining some hope as the trail led them away from the bonfire.

"They ran over here." stated Aragorn.

"Then here." continued Harry. "But they were followed.""Tracks lead away from the battle." added Aragorn.

"Into Fangorn Forest." the duo finished together.

"Fangorn?" questioned Gimli worriedly. "What madness drove them in there?"

"Maybe a need to be safe." answered Harry. "Maybe hiding in there kept them alive." Finishing his sentence, Harry strode forward into the ancient and foreboding forest, quickly followed by the others. Tracking the hobbits went well, however another track that followed them, that of an Orc, worried him.

"Orc blood." spat Gimli.

"What?" asked Harry.

"On the bush." The group moved forward with greater urgency.

"These are strange tracks. I have never seen their like." muttered Aragorn.

Harry looked at them and his eyes widened, "I have. Not exactly the type of imprint but the size. The tracks were made by something more than 16 feet tall." The others looked at him, and Gimli swore. "What could possibly be that large?" asked Gimli.

"Let's hope whatever it is, is friendly." answered Harry, leading to a silence to fall upon the group as they looked around.

"The air is so close in here." muttered Gimli, breaking the silence.

"This forest is old. Very old." said Legolas reverently. "Full of memory and anger."

"Oh joy." replied Harry. "Just what we need, an angry forest that's bigger than us." Aragorn smiled, but Legolas glared.

A strange noise erupted, causing Harry to remark, "Did you eat something that didn't agree with your stomach, Gimli?"

Said dwarf snorted, and hefted his axe. As Gimli opened his mouth, Legolas interrupted, "The trees are speaking to each other.""Gimli!" whispered Harry loudly. "Do not raise an axe in a sentient forest, or at least don't if you want to stay alive. On second thoughts, keep your axe up."

"Stupid uppity wizard." mumbled Gimli.

"They have feelings my friend." said Legolas. "The Elves began it.""Oh how I wish they hadn't." remarked Harry. The forest was like the forbidden forest back home, and it made him feel very uneasy. His hands were hovering near his sword and wand, just itching to feel the comfort of his weapons.

"Waking up the trees, teaching them to speak." continued Legolas.

"What on earth made them think that was a good idea?" Harry asked of Gimli, causing the dwarf to laugh.

"Elves, what are you going to do?" replied Gimli rhetorically. "What do trees have to talk about?""The consistency of squirrel droppings." answered Harry.

Legolas broke into Elvish, "Something's out there."Aragorn replied in the same language, "What do you see?"

As the two looked around discreetly, Harry turned to Gimli and whispered, "Be ready."

"The white wizard approaches." said Legolas in Westron, most likely to warn Gimli.

"We must not let him speak. He shall put a spell on us." continued Aragorn.

As the conversation went on, Harry began to feel a disturbingly familiar presence, like the descendant of someone he once knew. It wasn't one Harry knew, but one very similar to it. It slowly approached from behind, and the group wheeled around drawing their weapons. They saw the impressive visage of a man on a rock, surrounded by light who waved his white staff. "Saruman." spat Harry. That's why it was so familiar, the Istari of this world were similar but each was more potent that the one beneath. This wizard's presence was like Gandalf's, but stronger. Harry had drew his sword and wand, however Saruman's gesture caused him to drop his suddenly red hot blade. In his peripheral vision, he saw Aragorn do the same even as an arrow and a throwing axe were fired by Legolas and Gimli respectively. Unfortunately, the white wizard cast them aside, but then Harry leapt into action, closing his eyes to protect them from the blinding light, he leapt at his foe as he fired numerous curses at him. However, the wizard managed to leap to the side, but his glowing aura receded, and Harry opened his eyes, to be meet with the sight of Gandalf.

"The two hobbits are safe. They are with Treebeard, the guardian of this forest." said Gandalf.

"It cannot be." muttered Aragorn reverently.

"Forgive me." begged Legolas. "I mistook you for Saruman.""But I am Saruman." answered Gandalf, confusing the three non magicals. "Or at least, Saruman as he should have been.""Yet you still maintain your penchant for grand entrances, Gandalf." laughed Harry.

"I did not fall through fire and water simply so you could mock me, Potter." replied Gandalf amusedly.

"What happened you?" cried Gimli.

"From the lowest dungeon to the highest peak, I fought with the Balrog of Morgoth. Until at last, I threw down my enemy and smote his ruin upon the mountainside. Darkness took me and I strayed out of thought and mind. Stars wheeled overhead and every day was as long as a life age of the Earth. But it was not the end. I felt life within me again. I've been sent back until my task is done." said Gandalf, as his face showed his descent into his memories.

"That doesn't sound ominous at all. As soon as Sauron is defeated, will you suddenly just collapse?" asked Harry.

"None can know the future." replied Gandalf. "I am Gandalf the White and I come back to you now at the turn of the tide."

As Gandalf finished grandly, he turned and began to walk away, somehow conjuring a grey cloak and covering himself in it. As the others followed him, Gandalf spoke. "One stage of your journey is over. Another begins. We must travel to Edoras with all speed."

"To save Théoden?" asked Harry.

"It will not be an easy cure. I shall need your help." commanded Gandalf.

"Then we have run all this way for nothing?" asked Gimli. "Are we to leave these poor hobbits here in this horrid, dark, dank, tree-infested...?" Gimli's rant was interrupted by the groaning of the forest.

"Did you mean charming and beautiful forest?" chortled Harry. Gimli grumbled.

"Gandalf turned to the grumbling Dwarf. "It was more than mere chance that brought Merry and Pippin to Fangorn. A great power has been sleeping for many long years.""And those two are the perfect people to wake it up. There is a saying among my people, "Never poke a sleeping dragon." The same applies here." said Harry, worry obvious in his voice.

"They shall be fine. Their coming will be like the falling of small stones starting an avalanche in the mountains." answered Gandalf mysteriously.

"Somehow that doesn't reassure me." grumbled Harry.

"In one thing you have not changed, dear friend." said Aragorn. "You still speak in riddles."

"A thing is about to happen that has not happened since the Elder Days. The Ents are going to wake up and find that they are strong.

"Strong?" repeated Gimli, causing the forest to moan again. "Oh, that's good.""I'm still not reassured." muttered Harry.

"Why don't the trees get annoyed with you?" asked Gimli.

"Hard to chastise brilliance." replied Harry smugly, causing Legolas to laugh.

"Merry and Pippin are quite safe, my friends. In fact, they are far safer than you are about to be." said Gandalf, causing Harry to wryly remark.

"Gandalf, you have a newfound talent. Giving pep speeches."

"This new Gandalf's more grumpy than the old one." mumbled Gimli.

"Old age." replied Harry.

SCENE BREAK

They left the forest at a different point than where they entered, only to see a bright day that belonged to summer. Gandalf pursed his lips and whistled, some magic was mixed with some magic, although Harry could not discern it's purpose. An answering neigh came from the left, and when the others turned to it, they saw a beautiful white horse charging at them at a ferocious pace.

"That is one of the Mearas unless my eyes are cheated by some spell." Legolas' voice was filled with awe, as Harry wandered why the Mearas was so familiar sounding.

"Shadowfax." Gandalf's voice broke the silence that had fallen on the group as the horse approached. "He is the lord of all horses and has been my friend through many dangers." Harry turned around and jumped backwards. Behind them where their horses, given to them by Éomer.

"How the hell?" asked Harry.

"Shadowfax called them and they answered." replied Gandalf smugly.

Harry looked at Kell, who was currently rubbing himself up against Shadowfax and said, "Kell! I'm feeling the love."

**The pace is picking up a little. I shall probably update again before Monday, because after that I'm going to Belfast for school stuff and won't have much time to write except late at night. Please review and read my other stories. Goodbye, have a nice weekend and if I don't update again, a great Halloween.**


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: Sorry about the delay between this chapter and the last, I came down with the flu quite badly as well as having mountains of work to do, coupled with rehearsal's for the play, research for the debate team, helping out at the youth club in my town and having to revise for a test, in other words reality attacked me and proved the adage, "When it rains, it pours." correct.

Disclaimer: I do not now, nor have I ever owned Harry Potter in any shape or form other than the books. If I had the catastrophe know as the Half Blood Prince and the abomination known as the Deathly Hallows would not have been unleashed upon humankind. Seeing as they have, it is logical to assume that I don't own Harry Potter. I do own... very little now that I think about it. I also do not own Lord of the Rings, however much I may wish otherwise and it is doubtful that I ever will.

Chapter 15

After a long days trek towards Edoras and Théoden, they quintuplets finally stopped for the night. Gandalf took the first watch, and stood at the base of the camp, the perfect visage of the ever-watchful sentinel. Harry approached.

"Something troubles you." It was not so much a question as a statement, but Gandalf answered nonetheless.

"Everyday I fear more and more that I have sent Frodo to his death." The grief in Gandalf's voice was unmistakeable, and shocked Harry a bit, he had never seen the wizened and venerable old wizard so defeated.

"We must all meet our death someday. It is natural, the circle of life. All that has a beginning, has an end." Gandalf merely looked at Harry in reply to his philosophical statement, causing Harry to continue. "But I do not think this will be Frodo's end."

"He has passed from my sight, into darkness."

"Sam is with him, he shall be fine." reassured Harry.

"But what if he's not?" retorted Gandalf. "What if Sauron is reunited with his ring? What then? What then shall we do when Sauron and his forces march upon Middle-Earth?"

"Sauron was stopped once before-" answered Harry, before Gandalf interrupted him.

"Yes, by the combined forces of the elves, men, dwarves and the Istari, and even then he was only defeated through luck. Now, the Elves are leaving these shores and those that remain are but a shadow of their former selves. Men, they are divided and for the most part weak. Everyday, more and more men join the forces of Mordor. Dwarves, they hide in their caves, hoping this war will pass them by. As for the Istari, yes I am stronger than before, but now Saruman has turned on us. The blue wizards have passed from my knowledge and would be no aid anyway. They are not fighters. Radagast cares nothing for the world of men and elves anymore, he has been consumed with the animals and the birds. Nay, if Sauron regains the ring, we shall not stop him." Gandalf's monologue finally ended as Harry glared at him, the unspoken "Are you finished?" brilliantly conveyed in the deathly look.

"But we will face him in battle nonetheless. No-one is so powerful as to be beyond defeat, no-one is unable to be beaten by a lucky shot, no-one is unstoppable." replied Harry.

"What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object?" chuckled Gandalf. "I believe that Sauron is unstoppable, but I remember that you are immovable. If Sauron marches on Middle Earth again, and Frodo loses the ring, you will stop him." The solemnity of the moment was broken by Aragorn's chuckle.

"Where is the wise man that told me, "Do not worry about what if's or what could have been's, worry instead on what is." Where is that man?" queried Aragorn.

Gandalf laughed in response, the intenseness of the situation alleviated by Aragorn's imput. "He has disappeared to be replaced by a far wiser version of himself my old friend."

"Besides." continued Aragorn. "I think Sauron is the one who should be worried. Who wouldn't be if Gandalf the White with his newfound piety, Harry the foreign war mage and the greatest warrior to have ever lived, the heir of Numenor, faces him?" He finished self-importantly.

"Hmm." answered Harry. "I could have sworn you were the heir of Numenor. I must have been wrong." His pathetic retort caused Gandalf to laugh slightly.

"Something wrong Harry? That wasn't up to your usual standards."

"I'm tired old man, but at least I have standards."

An easy silence fell on the trio of old friends. To any who looked, it would have been hard to feel scared. The image of the old, bearded and long haired man who seemed to radiate power, flanked by a tall, black haired man who stood tall and impassive, a boulder that would withstand any tide, and another man, similar to the second, but with an aura of grace and pride, coupled with an air of power, was one that would strike fear into the hearts of their enemies, and hearten men to the point they would fight against 100-1 odds with that trio on their side. Gandalf broke the reverie.

"Sauron is right to fear us, who we are and what we will become. He will strike hard and fast at the world of men.""When he does, we will be waiting." replied Harry.

"Sauron will use his puppet, Saruman, to destroy Rohan. Rohan must defend itself, and therein lies our first challenge, for Rohan is weak and ready to fall."

Harry answered with the retort, "Éomer has 2000 or so men by now, stationed near Rohan's borders. When Théoden is cleansed, he shall return, and Rohan will be as strong as ever."

"But it is the cleansing of Théoden that shall prove to be the challenge. Saruman has often used the trick of enslaving the minds of others, and by now, his hold will be very strong.""Even Saruman can't stand up to our combined power." replied Harry. "And we do have one advantage. Frodo still has the ring. And as long as he does, we have more time with which we can combat the forces of Saruman and Sauron. They will believe that we will use the ring against them, and we shall foster that we belief. We will war with them, Rohan and Gondor shall stand united and fight them. The very idea of us seeking to destroy such a powerful item is not one that they can comprehend, and so with each day Frodo get's ever closer to defeating Sauron, and we must distract him."

As noon came upon the travellers, they crested a hill and beheld the city of Edoras. It was little bigger than the other towns of Rohan, but it was Meduseld, the Golden Hall, and the fact that here was the traditional home of the king that made it so significant. Harry stopped for a moment, and the others stopped as well.

"Is something the matter, Harry?" questioned Legolas.

"Quite the opposite, my friend. I have not laid my eyes on Edoras in some 20 years. It is good to be back." Harry's solemn pronouncement caused an odd moment of quiet to come across the group, broken by Harry laughing and crying aloud, "Last one there has to cook our next meal." Before he had even finished his sentence, Harry was already racing towards the mountaintop town, a smile gracing his lips and he pressed Kell for the first time, seeking to find the inexhaustible horse's limits.

As they approached the gate, and they began to enter, one of the flags of Rohan landed beside Harry. "Never has any standard of Rohan fallen, never has any flag been taken or destroyed, suddenly, I fear for Rohan." Harry's previous joy seemed to have been forgotten, and his previous sad demeanour was back.

The group travelled slowly through the streets, and what they saw immensely worried Harry. The shrinking of the villagers, the sorry state in which they lived and the seemingly consistent fear and sadness that appeared to permeate through the entire village. Eventually, they reached the hilltop, where Meduseld was, in which the King would have normally held court, however there was no one approaching to petition the king, and that more than anything worried Harry. How far had Théoden and Rohan fallen because of Saruman? There and then, Harry swore revenge.

Gimli seemed to summarise the situation with the words, "You'd find more cheer in a graveyard."

As the group ascended the stairs towards Meduseld, Gandalf appeared to be struggling slightly. Recognising the act for what it was, an attempt to make him underestimated, Harry slung his arm around Gandalf's back and pretended to help him scale the steps. Towards the top of the steps, the doors burst open and a red haired man in armour, flanked by two other guards, emerged. "I cannot allow you before Théoden King so armed, Gandalf Greyhame. By order of Grima Wormtongue." Although, the distaste was obvious in the red heads voice as he said the name, he, and the dozen or so soldiers that had appeared behind him, gave the impression that they would see the order fulfilled. Gandalf nodded to the others to let them know to surrender their weapons.

As Harry handed over his sword, bow and arrows and numerous knives, while taking care to keep his wand hidden, he muttered, "What a wonderful welcome to give a war hero."

The red-head obviously heard, and replied, "It is the custom for all but the King's guards to be unarmed in his presence.""Since when?" asked Harry, incredulously.

"It's a recent development."

To the side, Harry could see his friends reluctantly handing over their weapons, and Gandalf's shock at being asked to hand over his staff as well. "Surely you would not part an old man from his walking stick?" asked Gandalf.

"Does my word count for nothing anymore?" asked Harry. "You have my word he isn't going to kill anyone with his piece of wood. Alright?" The thinly veiled sarcasm in Harry's voice caused the red-head to wilt slightly, who then turned and lead the group into the hall. The sight that awaited Harry was nothing short of terrifying. The once vigorous and powerful young king appeared to have been replaced by a decrepit, feeble old cripple. His hair and beard was untamed, and grey and his posture was terrible, and his face appeared more suited to someone Gandalf's age. Unbeknownst to Harry, the sight had angered Harry enough that his aura was beginning to show. The golden green aura began to emanate from Harry as he approached the throne upon which his old friend slouched. The greasy haired man to Théoden's right, who appeared to be a mixture of Snape and Wormtail, approached and began to berate the guards about not taking Gandalf's staff.

Harry's hand shot out and grabbed the man by the throat, before chucking him to side and approaching Théoden. Around him, he noticed the others fighting off the guards, and Gandalf walking alongside him. A guard leapt at Harry, arm swinging, but Harry sidestepped him, grabbed the arm and pulled him over Harry's outstretched foot, sending him flying to the ground. "Is this the welcome I can expect from now on, my friend?" asked Harry angrily.

"Why should I welcome you, you who stole my brother from me with your raids?" replied Théoden in turn. As Harry approached, he could see Théoden's eyes were glazed over and vacant, completely dissimilar to the previous sparkling blue eyes, and his emotionless voice frightened Harry. Just how much control did Saruman have?

Gandalf, who strode alongside Harry, spoke. "Théoden, son of Thengel, too long have you sat in the shadows. Hearken to me." he commanded as he raised his hand. "I release you from the spell."

Théoden's only response was to laugh weakly, "You have no power here Gandalf the Grey."

Harry leapt forward and drew his wand, pointing it directly between his friends eyes. "Saruman, leave." Behind him, he barely registered Gandalf removing his grey cloak to reveal his white cloak, and saying, "I will draw you Saruman, as poison is drawn from a wound." Harry channelled raw magic into his wand, and touched the glowing end of his wand to Théoden's head as Gandalf bound his body and began to lend Harry strength. Using the contact between his wand and Théoden's skin, he leapt into Théoden's mind, spotting the small corner that still belonged to the wise man, and the ever ceaseless might of Saruman seeking to crush the resistance. Harry yelled, aiding his friend, lifting the oppressive mind from Saruman. He took the burden of Saruman from Théoden, and felt like what he imagined Atlas felt like as he held up the earth. Slowly, with Gandalf's help, he found the link between Saruman's mind and Théoden's, eerily similar to his link with Voldemort, and forced Saruman out.

After blocking up the link, Harry withdrew, smiling. As Théoden began to fall off his throne, Harry caught him and aided by a beautiful woman cloaked in white, who appeared to be vaguely familiar, he steadied Théoden. Already, Harry could see the vitality return to the great king, as his hair and beard regained it's colour and the wrinkles seemingly faded from his face. In moments, he was the every bit the king he once was. Théoden looked at the woman beside Harry. "I know your face." The woman smiled, showing dimples, before Théoden continued, "Eowyn." As Théoden named the woman, Harry coughed in shock. This was the daughter of Éomund and Théodwyn, the two of the best friends Harry had had in this world, who had married in a political agreement but had fallen in love. At least now he knew why she was so familiar, she was very similar to her mother, with her fathers hair colour. Now that he knew the connection, it was easy to see the resemblance between the woman in front of him and his old friend. Théoden turned at his cough. "My old friend. Harry, Harry Potter.""Sorry it's been a while since I last visited." replied Harry before embracing his old friend.

"Gandalf?" exclaimed Théoden.

"Breathe the free air again, my friend." Théoden shakily got to his feet after Gandalf spoke, aided slightly by Eowyn.

"Dark have been my dreams of late." claimed Théoden.

"Your fingers would remember their old strength better if they grasped your sword." said Gandalf, causing the red-headed guard from before to step forward. Théoden drew his sword, a look of wonder on his face, before it turned menacing, and he looked at the Snape-Wormtail hybrid who Gimli had grabbed a hold of.

Théoden wasted no time rushing at him and grabbing him, before dragging him to the doors and threw him down the steps, where he cried in pain. Théoden walked down the steps after him. The man cried out, pain evident in his voice as he spoke, "I've only ever served you, my lord." but even as he spoke he was attempting to crawl away.

"Your leechcraft would have had me crawling on all fours like a beast." shouted Théoden, the anger in his voice only rising as he went on.

"Send me not from your sight." pleaded the man, before Théoden swung his blade up in the air before bringing it down towards the prostate man. Before he could finish his swing, Aragorn rushed forward and grabbed Théoden's arms, preventing the execution with the words.

"No, my Lord! No, my Lord. Let him go. Enough blood has been spilt on his account." Aragorn turned to help the man up, Wormtongue, one of the guards helpfully supplied, but Wormtongue only spat in Aragorn's hand, before fleeing through the crowd that had gathered. "Hail, Théoden King!" shouted Aragorn, causing all to genuflect or bow before him.

"Where is Theodred?" asked Théoden. "Where is my son?"

**As I said at the beginning of the story, I apologise for the long delay between updates but to make up for it, I have made this chapter longer than normal, and while I don't have the next chapter written, I know what will happen and have the chapter after that written already. Odd, I know, but please review and read my other stories.**


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I do not now, nor have I ever owned Harry Potter in any shape or form other than the books. If I had the catastrophe know as the Half Blood Prince and the abomination known as the Deathly Hallows would not have been unleashed upon humankind. Seeing as they have, it is logical to assume that I don't own Harry Potter. I do own... very little now that I think about it. I also do not own Lord of the Rings, however much I may wish otherwise and it is doubtful that I ever will.

Chapter 16

Harry stood beside Théoden as his son was borne towards his burial ground on a stretcher. The stretcher was held on the shoulders of his closest friends, a Rohan tradition in which the weight of the stretcher and the effort given by the bearers symbolised the bearers paying back the dead for what they had done in life, by carrying them to their resting place where they might know peace. Théodred, who Harry had only meet when he was a boy, was in his armour, with his sword in his hands and a peaceful expression on his face.

Harry and Théoden were following directly behind the stretcher, Harry in slightly cleaner attire than what he had previously been wearing, and Théoden wearing his full ceremonial clothing. The duo made an odd pair, one dirty and the other the epitome of sanitation, but both appeared kingly.

The other members of the fellowship followed behind, alongside some of the other nobles of king Théoden's court, as the people of Edoras stood vigil to their fallen heir, who had been given an honour guard of the remaining soldiers of Edoras. The procession made their way down to the burial ground from the golden hall of Meduseld, with the people of Rohan falling in behind.

As they stood outside the burial ground, Eowyn began to sing. Harry absentmindedly noted that although she wasn't not the greatest of singers, the emotion in her voice more than made up for it. The haunting sound of the Rohirrim mourning song followed Théodred into his final resting place, tears upon many faces at the death of the lord's heir, and also a friend. Time seemed to pass by Théoden and Harry and the stone was pulled over the entrance of the burial chamber of the house of Théoden, until only the duo and Gandalf remained.

Théoden raised a white flower, similar to a lily, to his face. "Simebelmyne." muttered Théoden as he threw it to the ground. "Ever has it grown on the tombs of my fore bearers. Now it shall cover the grave of my son." As he finished the last sentence, he looked at Gandalf, then Harry, almost searching for a way to reverse his son's death, his grief obvious in his face. "Alas that these evil days should be mine. The young perish and the old linger. That I should live to see the last days of my house."

"All things come to an end, old friend, but your house will be remembered. The house of Helm Hammerhand, of Thengel the horse tamer, and of many other valiant warriors too numerous to name. That house will be remembered in legend, a symbol of honour and dignity, and of all that a man should strive to be." replied Harry, seeking to heal his friend's emotional ills.

"Théodred's death was not of your making." continued Gandalf.

"No parent should have to bury their child." retorted Théoden, his voice shaking as he struggled to contain his emotions, and then failed and began to sob quietly.

"Just because something shouldn't be, doesn't mean it is. Death comes to all, whether we will it or not, and all we can do is meet it, on our feet fighting to the end. Théodred did that, he was a good man and he proved that." answered Harry, as he placed a consoling hand on Théoden's shoulder. As Théoden slowly fell to his knees, Gandalf spoke again.

"He was strong in life, his spirit will find it's way to the halls of your fathers."

"You will be reunited in death, my friend." said Harry. "But in the meantime, you must make a choice. Mourn for the fallen, or care for the living." As Harry stood beside his friend, Gandalf turned to leave the king to his mourning, but instead cast his gaze to the horizon where a horse was making it's way over the hill. As Harry looked to see where Gandalf's vision was fixated, he saw the horse was bearing two children before one fell off. Cursing, Harry sprinted across the fields dividing the children from him, leaving Gandalf to look after Théoden.

Within minutes he reached the duo, a young girl and her older brother thought Harry, and the girl was kneeling beside the boy who had fallen. Harry picked her up and set her back on the horse. "Easy there." he soothed the horse before sending it on it's way to Edoras, before picking up the boy, who Harry guessed was around 13, and making his way to Edoras as well.

As he entered the gates, the boy began to stir and looked at him, but made no effort to get down, Théoden walked beside him.

"I can mourn in private, but I can not lead my people from my chambers." The statement told Harry Théoden had put aside his grief, for the moment.

Some time later, and the two children were digging into some broth as though they hadn't eaten in days. "Most likely, they hadn't." Thought Harry.

Eowyn rose up from their side where she had been coaching the story of what had happened them out of them. "They had no warning. They were unarmed." She besieged her uncle who was seated on his throne, hands covering his face, Gandalf sitting beside him. "Now the Wild Men are moving through the Westfold, burning as they go. Rick, cot and tree."

"Where is Mama?" asked the girl worriedly. Harry had found out her name was Freda.

"She should be at Helm's Deep by now." answered Harry, trying to project an aura of confidence to convince the girl of his answer.

"This is but a taste of the horror that Saruman will unleash." said Gandalf, who had stepped into the role of King's advisor after Wormtongue's...sacking. "All the more potent for he is driven now by fear of Sauron." Théoden lowered his hands, revealing a wearied face. "Ride out and meet him." advised the wizard. "Draw him away from your woman and children. You must fight."

"Yes, we must fight, but if we ride against Saruman, we will be destroyed. He far outnumbers us, his Uruk-hai are already spread out across the vicinity of Isengard and the Wild Men are pillaging across the whole of Rohan." countered Harry. "They'll be like roaches, even if we defeat a few bands, more will spring up across the country, and don't even mention an assault on Isengard. That would be folly."

"Théoden has 2,000 good men riding north as we speak." retorted Aragorn. "Éomer is loyal to you. His men will return and fight for their king, they are waiting near the closest borders to here. Send out messengers to find them."

"But by the time they arrive, Saruman's armies will be at our gates. They will come to late to aid us here." answered Harry, to be backed up by Théoden who had just walked into the center of the hall.

"Éomer will be upwards of 200 leagues from here by now. Éomer cannot help us." As Gandalf strode forward to counter Théoden's words, the king continued. "I know what it is you want of me, but I will not bring further death to my people. I will not risk open war.""Open war is upon you, whether you would wish it or not." replied Aragorn.

"But we could retreat to Helm's Deep, send for Éomer to join us there and regroup. Regain our strength, then strike against Saruman." advised Harry.

"And if Saruman strikes first?" asked Gandalf.

"Then we will have chosen the battlefield, and he will be assaulting a fortress that has never fallen." answered Harry.

"But you already said we can not stand against the armies of Saruman, at least in the open we can draw them away from the women and children, lead raids." retorted Aragorn.

"When last I looked." stated Théoden. "Théoden, not Aragorn, was king of Rohan." His angry words caused Aragorn to raise his hands in a sign of peace, showing he meant only to advise.

"Then what is the king's decision?" asked Gandalf.

"Helm's Deep!" stated Théoden.

Gandalf lead the much smaller fellowship through Edoras towards the stables as Hama, who was acting as the voice of the king, made his announcement.

"By order of the king, the city must empty. We make for the refuge of Helm's Deep. Do not burden yourselves with treasures, take only what provisions you need."

"Helm's Deep." spat Gandalf.

"They flee to the mountains when they should stand and fight." said Gimli, drawing everyone's attention. "Who will defend them if not their king?"

"This is how Théoden believes his people shall best be protected." answered Harry as they entered the stables. "And I agree."

"Helm's Deep has saved them in the past." acquiesced Aragorn.

"There is no way out of that ravine." answered Gandalf. "Théoden is walking into a trap. He thinks he's leading them to safety. What they will get is a massacre. Théoden has a strong will, but I fear for him. I fear for the survival of Rohan."

"Théoden will need you two before the end, Harry, Aragorn. The people of Rohan will need you. The defences have to hold."

"They will hold." stated Aragorn.

"Rohan will not fall while there is breath in lungs, or a sword in my hand." challenged Harry.

"The Grey Pilgrim." muttered Gandalf, as he stroked Shadowfax. "That's what they used to call me. Three hundred lives of Men I've walked this earth, and now I have no time."

"The world's odd like that." interjected Harry, shaking Gandalf from his reverie.

"With luck, I shall find Éomer." said Gandalf as he mounted Shadowfax. "Look to my coming at first light on the fifth day. At dawn, look to the east." With that said, he kicked Shadowfax into action and galloped out of the stables.

"Knows how to make an exit, doesn't he." stated Harry, as he and Aragorn began to leave. "I shall see you later, my friend. I must replenish my quiver."

Harry was walking through Edoras trying to find a way to be useful, when he passed the doors of Meduseld. Looking inside, he saw Éowyn practising a kata with a sword. Seeking to learn more about one of his best friend's daughter, he walked up to her from behind. She spun round to finish the kata, to hit Harry's knife. He'd recognised the kata, and how it would end, and thought what better way to make an entrance. Éowyn's eyes widened, thinking she had been close to hurting an ally, not realising Harry had planned it.

"You have some skill with a blade." said Harry, before Éowyn flourished the aforementioned blade to push Harry's knife to the side and point her sword at him in response to the comment. Harry lowered the knife, causing Éowyn to do the same to her weapon.

"Women of the country learned long ago, those without swords can still die upon them. I fear neither death nor pain." she boasted, causing Harry to snort.

"It's not the death that you should be worried about, but the dying. Death may be painless, but the actual process is very painful, but of course you don't fear pain. But despite your words you would still flinch from the visage of a battlefield or the pain of a knife wound. We all do, it's shows we reject them."Éowyn looked at Harry as she put away the sword into a chest. "You speak wisely, but we can reject something without fearing it." she defended.

"I'm curious, what is it you will admit to fearing?" questioned Harry.

"A cage. To stay behind bars until use and old age accept them. And all chance of valour has gone beyond recall or desire."

Harry shook his head slightly, "You remind me of myself, when I was young and naive. When I believed that valour mattered, and did not realise that those I thought caged me, where protecting me until I was ready. When you age, you realise valour and honour matter little, what really matters is not whether you will be remembered, but whether you will be worth remembering. But I do not think what you have described will be the fate of the progeny of Éomund and Théodwyn, you will have honour and valour but the question is not if your name is remembered, but if you'll be able to look your parents in the eyes in the afterlife." Harry bowed his head slightly, and left.

They had been travelling for three days already and Harry was walking beside Aragorn in silence, Kell following amiably behind, welcoming the rest. Just ahead, Gimli was entertaining Éowyn with stories of the Dwarves, currently the tale of Dwarf women. "It's true, you don't see many dwarf women." said Gimli, before chuckling slightly, "In fact they are so alike in voice and appearance that they're often mistaken for dwarf men." Éowyn looked back at Harry and Aragorn, an unspoken question in her eyes.

"It's the beards." whispered Harry, causing Éowyn to smile slightly, before Gimli once more gathered Éowyn's attentions.

"This, in turn, has given rise to the belief that there are no dwarf women and that dwarves simply spring out of holes in the ground." Éowyn laughed, and with good reason. The dwarf was a great story teller. "Which is of course ridiculous." he continued, but in his exuberance in telling the tale, he had accidentally kicked his horse, which leapt forward into a gallop, causing Gimli to fall off several paces later. Éowyn chased after the dwarf who was claiming, "It was deliberate."

"I haven't seen my niece smile for a long time, not since you were last here Harry." said Théoden who had ridden up beside Harry and Aragorn. "She was but a girl when they brought her father back dead, brutally killed by orcs. She watched her mother succumb to grief. Then she was left alone, to tend her king in growing fear. Doomed to wait upon an old man, who should have loved her as a father." Théoden rode on ahead, to converse with Legolas as to the state of the Elves, leaving Harry and Aragorn to ponder his words, and his regrets.

Éowyn approached Harry as they made camp that night. "I made some stew. It isn't much, but it's hot." Harry sheathed his wand with which he had simply been accomplishing small feats of magic to improve his control. Harry gratefully accepted the bowl of stew, although recognised he could go longer without food, and had, most recently when he had been pursuing the Uruk-hai and trying to rescue Pippin and Merry

"Thank you." He scooped some of the soup out of the bowl, and began to chew it. It wasn't great, but Harry had had far worse, and had little trouble swallowing it. "It's good, although a bit warm."

Éowyn turned to leave but before she had taken a few steps, she turned back. "My uncle told me a strange thing. He said that you rode to war with Thengel, my grandfather. But he must be mistaken."

"King Théoden has a good memory. He was only a small child when Aragorn and I fought with Thengel." answered Harry.

"Then you must be at least 60." said Éowyn, as she squinted at Harry, trying to find some hint of age. Harry shook his head. "70?" Again Harry shook his head. "You cannot be 80."

"86." Harry's blunt statement caused Éowyn to rise to her feet." Why do you seemed so shocked? Gandalf is over 2,000."

"My uncle told me you were a different type of wizard than Gandalf and Saruman. He said you came from distant lands where wizards were much more common.""They are, and even there we live longer than non magical people. Although, most show their age more than I do. I do not know how these lands affect me, or my aging."

"How did you come to be here?" queried Éowyn.

"The Valor brought me after I won a great victory against the Dark. I can do more help here than I can at home."

The following day, the procession had once again broken camp and where marching towards Helm's Deep.

"My Lord?" asked Éowyn. "Do you miss your home?"

"I do, but my home is dying. My people are dying. Wars have ravaged them, and we grew fewer and fewer every year as more and more children are born without magic. Most of my friends and family are long dead, and the rest most likely dying of old age now. Our scholars believe are people will die out within generations." replied Harry.

"Perhaps the time of your people can come again, perhaps these wizards like you shall rise again."

"Maybe, but it is unlikely. Much more likely that they will fade into legend, and myth to be forgotten. Much more likely that there will be no sign they ever lived.""Perhaps they can rise up in this world?" asked Éowyn.

"Perhaps." answered Harry.

As they rode in silence, they heard a scream ahead. "One of the scouts." stated Harry, before a distant cry of "Wargs." reached his ears.

Cursing, Harry leapt into the saddle of Kell before moving forward as fast as he could. He crested the hill above, and looked down to where Legolas had just killed a warg.

He turned back to the column of Rohirrim shouting, "Wargs! We're under attack!" After informing Théoden, Harry rode up to where the last remaining scout and Legolas where. "Háma?"

"The scout caught him unaware, my lord." answered the other scout, Gamling, Harry thought his name was. He rode forward to the next hill where Legolas was standing, firing at the wargs who had just become visible. As Legolas began to fire, Harry drew his wand and began to attack the wargs, however the distance meant his attacks were somewhat inaccurate against the fast moving wargs. As the Rohirrim riders passed Harry, he kicked Kell into a gallop and rode at the wargs. As the front lines of the two opposing forces clashed, Harry came round to the side of the wargs and charged at them from them, magic making a good weapon here. Just as Harry came within a stones throw distance with the wolf-type things, and their riders, he sheathed his wand and drew his sword, swinging wildly at the unprepared wargs. As Harry killed his third enemy a warg jumped at him, knocking him off Kell. Harry fell, but was quickly on his feet, a few wandless banishers knocking some orcs of their wargs, where they were easy prey. A warg and his rider rode at Harry, but he twisted out of the way, swinging his sword and managed to hamstring the warg, causing it to fall to the ground, where it and it's rider where quickly slain by some other unhorsed Rohirrim.

As Harry crossed the battlefield, killing as he went he spotted Gimli trapped underneath a warg and orc, but with a warg about to kill him. A quick bludgeoner later and the warg collapsed as it lungs caved in as it's ribs pierced them. Harry levitated the carcases off Gimli, before turning and killing an orc that had tried to sneak up behind him. Aragorn rode up beside them, "You's alright?" he asked.

"Yeah." replied Harry, before leaping forward to kill a warg. Harry dispatched his enemy ruthlessly, before running over to Théoden who was surrounded by a trio of enemies. "Percutio." yelled Harry, the wandless spell quickly killing one warg, causing it's rider to be flung away. Théoden killed one of the warg riders as Harry knocked another off it's warg, before killing them both. As they looked around afterwards, they saw the battle was almost over.

"Aragorn!" cried Legolas, causing Harry to look around.

"Oh, Arwen going to kill me." muttered Harry when he couldn't see the ranger. Harry ran over to where Legolas and Gimli where, only to hear a nearby warg rider laugh.

"Tell me what happened and I will ease your suffering." growled Gimli.

"He's dead." spluttered the warg rider.

Harry grabbed a hold of the orc's armour. "You lie." He spat.

"He took a little tumble of the cliff." Even as the creature lay dying, Harry could still see the joy in the orc's eyes at causing them pain. Harry walked up to the cliff, drawing his wand.

"Point me, Aragorn." he commanded. His wand spun in his hand before pointing in the direction the river was flowing. "He might still be alive." He said to Legolas, Gimli and Théoden who had gathered around him.

"I have his Evanstar." said Legolas, despondently.

"Keep it, you can return it to him when we find him." replied Harry.

Théoden turned to Gamling who was nearby, "Get the wounded on horses. The wolves of Isengard will return. Leave the dead.""But Aragorn..." started Legolas.

"We can do nothing for him now." interrupted Théoden. "Come."

"I shall meet you in Helm's Deep." said Harry."What?" asked Théoden.

"No one is left behind, or forgotten. That is my code. I shall follow it." stated Harry, before running over to where Kell was grazing and mounting him. "I shall return. Legolas, Gimli, go to Helm's Deep, you will be more help there than here."

**Please review, I realise it has been a while since my last update, but my laptop broke and so I was unable to write anymore chapters. To make up for it, here is a slightly longer than normal chapter, this is actually the longest chapter of the story so far, actually my longest ever chapter so feel very privileged, and I have the next chapter written already, just need to type it up.**


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: I do not now, nor have I ever owned Harry Potter in any shape or form other than the books. If I had the catastrophe know as the Half Blood Prince and the abomination known as the Deathly Hallows would not have been unleashed upon humankind. Seeing as they have, it is logical to assume that I don't own Harry Potter. I do own... very little now that I think about it. I also do not own Lord of the Rings, however much I may wish otherwise and it is doubtful that I ever will.

Chapter 16

Harry began to ride Kell down the riverside, following the current in an attempt to find Aragorn. Seeing no visible end of the river in sight, he began to gallop before eventually spotting Aragorn below in the water. As he began to make his way down to Aragorn, he washed up on shore. As he finally reached Aragorn after travelling down the treacherous path, he noticed Aragorn pulling himself up onto a horse after calling it Brego.

"Well. Don't you look like hell?" asked Harry.

Aragorn looked up wearily but somehow had enough energy to make a sarcastic comment, "Sorry. The river didn't have a tailor."

Harry laughed, "Well come on then, let's get you to Helm's Deep. You can sleep if you want."

Aragorn nodded and began to doze as Harry grabbed the reigns of his horse, Brego, and began to direct both horses on, forced to go slightly slower than normal as he attempted to control two horses at once.

Suddenly, they crested a hill and saw a massive army of Uruk-hai heading in the direction of Helm's Deep.

"Aragorn, wake up." whispered Harry as he poked the sleeping ranger beside him.

"What? I was having the best dream." moaned Aragorn.

"Look." commanded Harry. Aragorn looked down and groaned.

"There must be around 20 thousand. Come on, we have to warn Théoden." he said as he turned away. "Harry, come on."

"I'll delay them for as long a I can. Go quickly." He watched Aragorn turn reluctantly and begin to gallop away to Helm's Deep, before turning back to the Uruk-hai and pulling out his wand. Taking careful aim at a few rocks near the column of warriors, he whispered, "Golem mobilus." The rocks obeyed his command, forming up into a large rock Golem at least 20 feet tall. It stood still for a second before another command from Harry sent it flying into the ranks of the stunned Uruk-hai.

Harry staggered in his saddle and sheathed his wand, unlimbering his bow instead. The spell usage against the wargs, although all being relatively minor spells, and the lack of sleep he'd had for the past few days was finally catching up on him. As his Golem did more and more damage to the Uruk-hai, it also sustained more damage, Harry got down off his horse and knelt down. Taking careful aim, he fired an arrow, hitting an Uruk-hai in the neck, killing it instantly. Firing again and again at the army, he felled more of the creatures who were distracted by his Golem, who had finally been defeated after exacting a heavy toll upon the enemy.

From where he knelt, Harry was able to see a few hundred dead Uruk-hai lying on the ground, being trampled by the rest of the army as they marched on. Pulling out another arrow, he noticed he only had a few left, but still resolutely fired again at the Uruk-hai. Three arrows later, and the Uruk-hai had spotted him and sent a small patrol of 50 out after him. Smiling, he jumped onto Kell and rode away slightly, before turning back to hill.

Unlimbering his wand, he began to cast diffindo's into the ground, until there were gouges in the ground going 6 feet down. Concentrating his will on what he wanted, he cast, "Wingardium Leviosa." The levitating charm, vastly overpowered, lifted the ground that had been cut, leaving an empty trench around 10 metres wide.

Casting an illusion to make it appear the same as everything around him, he took up position at the opposite side of the trench. Mere seconds later, the patrol of Uruk-hai crested the hill and rushed at him. Their pace carried them onto the illusion which broke and sent them crashing 6 feet into the ground, killing a few and injuring the rest. Striding forward, Harry cast an incendio into the pit, burning them all. Smirking, he rode the horse to a mile in front of the Uruk-hai's still narrow path. Felling a tree, he dragged it into position in direct line of the Uruk-hai. With a little transfiguration, the branches and twigs in the tree were now razor sharp and very hard to break. Casting another illusion, it simply appeared to be a perfectly ordinary tree that had simply fallen down. Riding up the hill, he hid behind a rock so the creatures wouldn't spot him and waited. He wasn't waiting very long until the Uruk-hai were making a racket as they marched. Peaking his head out, he saw the Uruk-hai were about to reach the tree and cast, "Incendio." on either side of the tree, to discourage them from travelling around it. It worked and the first rank began to climb over the tree before falling back, covered in deep cuts and moaning in pain. They were quickly trampled by the next rank who attempted to climb the tree who also fell back.

Chuckling to himself as the Uruk-hai attempted to transverse this obstacle, he slipped away to where he had hidden his horse, leapt on and galloped forward a short distance, before making another trench, similar to the one he had used against the patrol of Uruk-hai who had pursued him, but much larger and with large spikes at the bottom of it to impale any who fell.. Hiding it as well, he moved back to the Uruk-hai who had managed to start getting past the tree, by extinguishing the fires. Looking quickly, he saw the fires had been quenched with bodies, and the Uruk-hai were now forced to walk around the tree instead of straight forward, slowing them down greatly. From where he stood in the middle of the path, he was the first thing the Uruk-hai saw when they rounded the tree, before Harry began to chant, "Percutio! Percutio! Percutio! Percutio!" over and over again, leaving small holes in the necks of the Uruk-hai. Despite his speed in casting, more Uruk-hai were able to round the tree than he was able to kill and soon a group of 100 Uruk-hai was charging at him. Turning, he galloped off to the side, before slowing so the Uruk-hai could see him. Slowly, he trotted his horse forward into a small forest which stood nearby.

Laughing to himself, he began to transfigure rocks into various animals that would encircle the Uruk-hai and attack them once they were all inside, before tying his horse to a tree and walking back a short distance where he could watch the carnage. Climbing a tree he watched as the Uruk-hai entered and were assaulted by the animals. Using the Uruk-hai as target practise, he was able to defeat all those who had pursued him, with the help of the lions and wolves he had transfigured. With a whispered command, the animals turned and slunk out of the forest, making their way to the main group of Uruk-hai where they would cause as much havoc as possible.

* * *

Back at Helm's Deep, Aragorn had told Théoden and the others of the Uruk-hai armies approach, and that Harry would be attempting to delay them, and most likely would and was currently waiting above the gate, staring out at the horizon waiting for his companion and best friend of over 60 years to return from his adventure. He had just finished walking the length of the wall with Théoden as they discussed the battle plan, and Aragorn had filled Théoden in on some of Harry's more powerful abilities in battle as Théoden had only ever seen Harry fighting the Warg's which had been moving too fast for serious magic, and in raids in which speed had been off the essence, and Harry defeating the possession of Théoden not really war related, and was dozing slightly as he waited. The sound of gentle footsteps jarred him into full alertness, and he turned slightly to see Eowyn making her way up the steps towards him.

"Hello my Lord Aragorn." was Éowyn's courteous reply."Eowyn. What are you doing here?" asked Aragorn curiously.

"I was wondering where you were. The others say you have not had much to eat nor any sleep since you returned. They worry for you." came Éowyn's reply.

Aragorn turned back to looking out over the wall. "I would not sleep, and I'm not hungry.""What are you looking for? You said the Uruk-hai would not reach here before nightfall.""Harry is out there delaying them."

"I had wondered where he was. Tell me, my lord, what is Harry like? He seems to be an enigma of sorts."

"He is. I know him better than any other and I still don't understand him. He is often withdrawn and introspective, without being shy, and has a tendency to go to the extreme to help others, then chastise me for doing the same. He is different, I put it down to one of the quirk's of being a wizard, he is all I could have wished for as a brother. Why are you interested in him anyway?" Turning to Eowyn, he saw a blush rise to her cheeks and found the answer. "You know what, never mind."

"Would you mind if I waited with you for a while?" queried Eowyn.

"If you wish." replied Aragorn.

"Would you tell me some stories of your's and Harry's adventures? I have memorised maps of the world, but no little of what happens in these places."Smiling, Aragorn responded in the affirmative.

* * *

The tactic he had previously used to great effect would be one he would repeat many times that day, and his strategy of attacking the army and goading them into sending a small patrol after him then ambushing the aforementioned patrol worked wonders upon the large army, which when coupled with the various traps he had left for the Uruk-hai and when he had attacked them, meant the army had around 3 or 4 thousand missing Uruk-hai, which didn't seem like much when you considered they still had over 15 thousand troops to throw at the Rohirrim who had maybe 3 or 400, but it could make all the difference. Finally though, Harry looked up and saw the light beginning to fade and because of his growing fatigue, he began to make his way back to Helm's Deep. As he rode, he dozed a bit to regain some energy, knowing that the night would be far harder as there would be no breaks and it would be constant as the Uruk-hai would simply try and wearing the Rohirrim down. As twilight came upon him, he was riding up the causeway of the fortress and people were crying, "Open the gates."

Making his way into the courtyard in front of the keep, he climbed off his horse and was immediately steadied by Aragorn, who had appeared from nowhere, as he stumbled. "Don't you look like hell? Now, come on. Come get some rest."

It was a sign of the wizard's immense fatigue that he didn't argue but instead allowed himself to be pulled along by Aragorn. "Can I get something to eat first?" he asked.

Aragorn sighed before answering, "Alright." and making his way over to the caves, as Harry rested while leaning against a wall. As he leant against it, Théoden approached him, "Aragorn says you were delaying the Uruk-hai. How successful were you?" he asked with an air of frustration about him that spoke of his efforts to convince his troops that they weren't fighting a lost cause.

"Pretty, they won't be here until midnight or shortly after. They now have about 3, 4 thousand fewer Uruk-hai with which to attack with, and quite a few of their warriors have suffered injuries." Here he looked around and although he spotted no one within hearing distance, lowered his voice to say, "But they still have more than enough troops to defeat us."

"Thank you, Harry." The tone in Théoden's voice told him he was thankful for more than delaying the inevitable, and quickly Harry realised what it was. He had basically told Théoden that he considered the people of Rohan to be his people. "But you should get some rest. I'll send someone to wake you when the Uruk-hai come." With those words, Théoden strode away leaving Harry to rest some more. As he looked around, he spotted a boy just into his teens who was wearing armour in preparation for the night ahead. The boy was also tossing a stone into the air and catching it.

"You there." Harry cried out to him. "Come here."

The boy looked over at him, before approaching, "Yes sir."

"What is your name, boy?"

"Haleth, son of Hama."

Harry recalled the man who had been the first casualty against the Wargs. "Your father was a good man, he died bravely." Harry drew out his wand and conjured a small bag, the effort necessary for this incredibly small piece of magic staggered Harry for a moment before he managed to recover.

"Are you O.K., sir?" asked Haleth concernedly.

"I'm fine. Take this bag and fill it with as many stones and pebbles as you can find, then return it to me, or if you can't, give it to Lord Aragorn and tell him I asked for it, alright.""O.K. sir." The boy replied confusedly.

The boy began to walk away just as Aragorn returned with a small bag in his hand similar to the one Harry had just given Haleth. "I could only get a bit of bread and a piece of chicken. Sorry, it's not much but I was lucky to get anything at all." he said as he handed the bag over, remembering how Eowyn had seemed much more eager to help upon hearing it was for Harry."It's O.K. What's important is I eat something. Using magic drains me, and food is the best way of recovering."

Harry opened the bag and pulled out the bread roll, biting in he realised it was stale, but still filling. Devouring it, he moved onto the chicken which was heavily salted, most likely to increase it's life. Quickly, finishing it off, he asked, "What's been happening so far?"

"Théoden has pressed every man and boy into service and because Éomer was banished along with around 2000 men, most of the fighters here have either the experience but no strength or strength but no experience. It is terrible, we have 300 men to face over 16 thousand, and of those 300, only 50 are anywhere near their physical peak. The women and children are in the caves along with all the food, and Théoden is trying to keep up a brave face in spite of knowing that we will most likely die tonight."

"Théoden's not stupid. He's knows that the longer we hold out, the more chance there is of aid coming from Éomer, and he's knows that as long as the Rohirrim believe that we have a chance, they won't break."

As they spoke, Aragorn had led Harry into the room with a small, uncomfortable looking bed and pushed him over to it.

"I'll send someone over with armour for you and I'll take your sword to get it sharpened, O.K?" asked Aragorn.

"Refill my quiver as well please." replied Harry. Looking up he saw Aragorn nod and leave, before collapsing onto his bed and closing his eyes, allowing the fatigue that had been nagging at him all day free reign, succumbing to the darkness.

**Please review. This is just a filler chapter, and the next chapter will feature the battle of Helm's Deep, all of it, and so will be quite long and the true test of my ability to write a battle scene. It will take some time as I have my A-Level's this month, so that'll be fun. Expect my next update to, hopefully, be before Valentine's Day.**


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: I do not now, nor have I ever owned Harry Potter in any shape or form other than the books. If I had the catastrophe know as the Half Blood Prince and the abomination known as the Deathly Hallows would not have been unleashed upon humankind. Seeing as they have, it is logical to assume that I don't own Harry Potter. I do own... very little now that I think about it. I also do not own Lord of the Rings, however much I may wish otherwise and it is doubtful that I ever will.

Chapter 18

_Harry was wandering in the Forbidden Forest when he spotted a flash of white ahead of him. Overcome with curiosity, he ran after the white flash, over fallen branches, twigs and roots, ducking underneath low-hanging branches, trying to satisfy the urge within him to reach the white ahead of him. He burst into the clearing, and slowly approached the pond that was in the middle of the clearing._

_Reflected in the lake he could see two people, a young boy and an older man. The young boy was around 16 or 17, Harry guessed, and his black hair stuck up despite the boys attempts to flatten it, the glasses dangling on the boy's face did little to guard against the glowing, vivacious green eyes that lay behind. He was laughing, an expression of joy on his face so powerful, it caused Harry to choke with emotion. The young boy had unblemished skin, no scars but for a glimpse of one underneath the boys fringe, and he was about 5 foot 8. He seemed vaguely familiar._

_The older man was simply older, he had no definable age, and his shoulder length hair was swept back so it didn't fall around his ears. He had green, emerald eyes that seemed hollow, a solemn expression on his face that betrayed little emotion. He was tall, around 6 foot, with lean, corded muscles lined with scars that also decorated his face. He was intimidating, but sad. Harry recognised this face, it was his own._

_"They are both yours." a melodic voice fluttered across the clearing to Harry, and he looked up to see a petite woman with blonde hair, and large, expressive blue eyes, and a smile on her face._

_"Luna!" cried Harry as he leapt towards her and swept her up in a hug. Leaning back slightly, he asked, "What?"_

_"They are your past and your present. The boy is who you were, young, energetic and happy, idealistic and naive, the very epitome of the light warrior, willing to fight whenever he needed to, but hating every second of it, wanting peace to his very core." She smiled at him as she spoke in that way she often did, Harry had realised that she had a way of knowing things she shouldn't. "The man is who you are, tired, sad, cantankerous, believing your only purpose is war, seeking it out."_

_Harry felt the need to defend himself, even though the words stroke a chord with him, "If we do not fight the forces of evil and darkness, then who will? If not me, then who? Who better to die, than the one who has lost everything? Sirius, Cedric, my parents, Hermione, Ron and the rest of Weasleys, Neville... and you. The people who I cared most about."_

_Luna smiled again as she lead Harry to the pond and sat down beside it, "Yes, fight, but that is not what you should seek out. Avoid fights as you once did, but fight when you need to. It served you well in the past.""It got Sirius and Cedric and so many others dead." shouted Harry._

_"Voldemort killed them, not you. You may have lost everything you once had, but you have gained a new family, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, even Gandalf and many others who care for you." Harry did not immediately reply. "You seem to seek death in everything you do, when Aragorn decided to stay in peace for a year, you went out and sought death with Éomund, you don't think your worthy of life anymore. You want to go out in a blaze of glory, die for something."_

_"We all die, I just want to die for something worth dying for."_

_"You want to die, but your just to big a coward to end it yourself. Your too scared to go on living, and become attached to new people, it took years for you to open up to Aragorn and you only opened up to Éomund because you thought you would be dying after being captured by the Orcs, but your also too scared to die. Pick a path, and stick to it. There is still much to live for."_

_Harry chuckled dryly, "Your as perceptive as ever, mon cherie."_

_"It's amazing, everyone revered you for your courage, but only now do I see your afraid to let go of those who died so long ago. Learn to let go, as you told Théoden, mourn for the dead or care for the living. Let go of the dead, and continue on living." Finally, Luna began to fade, but not before she delivered one last parting comment. "Remember, I love you."_

_She left Harry staring at the image of a happy boy, and a depressed older man, trying to reconcile the two in his head, and wondering how the boy became the man._

_"Milord. Milord. Milord." The constant call reached Harry as he slowly was pulled out of his comatose state._

"Milord." This time, Harry reacted as he leapt of the bed. Spotting only a young Rohirrim warrior, he relaxed and smiled.

"Are the Uruk-hai here yet?" he asked.

"They have been spotted a few miles away, Lord Aragorn sent me to wake you so you would have time to prepare." replied the soldier who Harry could now see was only a young boy, perhaps no older than the boy in the lake.

"Thank you, Haleth, is it?" he asked, upon scrutinising the vaguely familiar boy.

"Yes sir, the bag you asked me to collect is sitting beside your sword. I'll be waiting outside." Haleth bowed as he finished before heading outside.

Harry sighed as he removed his leather clothing that had served him so well in the past. It had been presented to him when he had first met the few remaining rangers, who had accepted him among their numbers, few as they may have been. Now they were even fewer, with maybe only half a dozen able bodied rangers still alive, counting Harry and Aragorn. Harry shook his head, trying to shake off the nostalgia.

Wearing just a tunic and some worn trousers, Harry began to put on his chain mail, armoured chaps and metal chest plate. Strapping on his sword and a number of knives to his waist, he sighed, the dream about Luna had been bringing back so many memories about his younger days, when he was more carefree. As he pulled on his quiver of arrows, with his bow placed securely inside, he shook himself again. Now was not the time to be distracted, not just before one of the biggest fights of his life.

Picking up his wand and the bag of stones Haleth had collected, he began to walk out the door as he stowed them away, wand up his arm in it's holster and the bag hanging from his waist.

"Lord Aragorn said that there was a place for you on the wall and I am to lead you there." announced Haleth. "He sent me to get him after I was going to give him that bag."

"Well then, lead on, Haleth."

Harry stood at the wall, less than a hundred metres away from the gate, which meant he was quite central along the wall as it extended both ways away from the gate. "Hmmm." thought Harry. "They must want me here so that I can quickly reinforce any area."

Beside him was a full battalion of Rohirrim warriors, although that was a bit of a stretch for many of them. As he looked around, he saw many grey bearded men, and others who didn't look like they could grow a beard if they tried. Very few were in their prime, but all seemed ready to fight. Each one stood with a bow in hand, ready for when the Uruk-hai assaulted the walls.

Haleth was standing beside him as the Uruk-hai stopped less than a two hundred feet away from the wall. A lightning strike illuminated the army for a minute, but there was no visible end in sight, as the rain began to fall, Harry heard Haleth gulp.

"Are you scared?" He asked the young boy.

"Yes." was the terse reply.

"That feeling never quite goes away, and when it does, that's when you need to worry." He told the teenager beside him. "Fear's good, it keeps you on your toes" Seeing his little pep talk wasn't working, he placed a hand on his shoulder. "Stay close to me." Haleth nodded in response as he concentrated on the approaching army.

The Uruk-hai began to slam the armoured fists onto their shields in unison, and the resulting bang began to intimidate many of the defenders. Harry laughed in response, causing many to look at him. He shook off the odd looks, but smiled, he'd successfully distracted them from the army ahead of them. Harry jumped onto the battlements and pointed his wand at his throat. A silent sonorus later, and he shouted at the army. "Uruk-hai, you know me. You fought me earlier today, trying to kill me. The result, you now stand several thousand less than you did this morning. In the name of peace, if you leave these lands now, you may live. Stay, and you will be destroyed to the last man. I ask you, is the command of Saruman so important to you that you would all die for it?"

There was a silence that fell upon all, before one Uruk-hai roared in response, and the others soon joined in. Harry stepped back down, "Quietus." before looking at those around him. He hadn't honestly expected the Uruk-hai to leave, but that was never his intention. Uruk-hai they may be, but if their morale was broken, so would they, and reminding them of the fact that he had single handedly killed several thousand of them on his could only demoralise them, as well as inspire the Rohirrim. Looking around now at the significantly less afraid battalion around him, he realised he had succeeded in part at least. "Archers, nock your arrows now!" He cried, a cry that was taken up across the entire wall. "Hold. Do not fire yet." He cried just afterwards.

"Why not?" asked Haleth.

"He who strikes first is at a disadvantage. It's a proverb from one of the great military commanders of my world." replied Harry, as he unsheathed his wand and pulled out a stone from his bag. He noticed Haleth watching with interest, curious as to why he had been forced to spend an hour earlier that night collecting stones.

WHOOSH

A single arrow flew across the battlefield and hit an Uruk-hai in the neck. It fell seconds later, and the Uruk-hai army screamed and began to charge. "Hold! Hold! Hold!" He screamed, as the Uruk-hai crossed the battlefield. A cry of "Fire." emerged from further up the wall, and Harry repeated the command as he enlarged his stone to the size of a small boulder and banished it at the coming army. It crushed an Uruk-hai as it hit the ground, before bouncing along the ground as it rolled away, killing more Uruk-hai. Harry smiled, before picking up another cry of "Volley." Harry himself obeyed, enlarging another stone and banishing it. Around him, he could see the men nearby gaining courage at the ease with which the Uruk-hai were being slaughtered, when they returned fire. Harry waved his wand as he whispered, "Fortis Aegis." The shield appeared in front of him and blocked the arrows. As they began to turn, Harry levitated them with his magic, and turned them around. "Depulso!" he shouted, sending the dozen arrows back to the origins. "Fire at will!" Harry cried as the Uruk-hai came closer and closer. Taking his own advice, he began to enlarge the stones in his bag as fast as he could and banish them at the ensuing army. Quite rapidly, the bag began to empty, until there were only half a dozen left.

Harry looked up at the army that was coming, before spotting the ladders that were rising. Harry threw the stones into the air, and muttered, "Engorgio, Depulso." overpowering the spells causing them to fly away from him faster than any of their predecessors while growing larger in size. As they hit the ground and began to roll along the ground, they created mass mayhem among the army, however Harry didn't notice as he was preoccupied with banishing the ladders away from the walls back into Uruk-hai army. Soon that became his job, as he simply banished all ladders within range away from the wall. Unfortunately, a short distance up the wall he was unable to banish the ladders and so they hit the wall and became entrenched in the walls as the Uruk-hai leapt up the ladders onto the wall. Among the Uruk-hai that had reached the walls, were a number of berserkers that the Rohirrim didn't seem to be able to deal with, and so Harry charged at them, firing off cutting curses as he got closer, however realising that if the Uruk-hai moved out of the way, he could kill his own men, he sheathed his wand and drew his sword.

Absentmindedly, he noticed Haleth beside him as he blocked a strike from one of the Uruk-hai and banished him wandlessly off the wall. Twisting to avoid a thrust from an enemy behind him, he spun and swung his sword to chop off the head of the offender. An Uruk-hai swung at Harry, who sidestepped quickly and stabbed his enemy with a hastily drawn dagger. Harry twisted and turned in the centre of four Uruk-hai who had gathered around him, blocking and evading the attacks. As Harry ducked underneath a wild swipe, he threw his dagger into the throat of one of the Uruk-hai, before twisting to slit the throat of another with a cutting curse. From there, it was simple to dispatch the remaining two enemies. Grabbing the dagger from it's resting place in one of the corpse's on the ground, he ran back to where he had originally been stationed, and was now overrun.

In his way, there was a small skirmish between the invaders and the stalwart Rohirrim, which the Rohirrim were winning, so Harry sent a banisher into the ground behind him as he ran to help him leap across the battlefield to where the defences were being overrun. As he landed on the ground, he swung his sword in a vast circle, injuring two Uruk-hai who were quickly defeated. Rushing forward, he engaged an Uruk-hai who was about to strike the back of one of the Rohirrim. Harry raised his dagger to block the strike, before quickly thrusting forward to defeat his enemy. Another Uruk-hai struck at him from the side, but Harry ducked and chopped off the Uruk-hai's leg before stabbing him through the chest. Finely honed reflexes forced Harry to the ground as he was attacked from behind, however some quick thinking in summoning a nearby Uruk that was directly in front of him knocked his attacker to the ground with another body on top of him. A quick stab to the chest later, and both were dead. As Harry looked around, he realised they had managed to repel the attackers for the moment.

He sheathed his sword and dagger, and drew his bow. Turning, he aimed down the wall at were four Uruk-hai had managed to find some space and were on the own. Some quick shooting later, and all four were dead. Harry put his bow back into his quiver, and ran back down the wall, sword in hand as he looked for more enemies.

At some point along his journey, Haleth appeared beside him, although with a small wound on his shoulder. As he stood at the top of a ladder, killing every Uruk-hai that came up it, along with all those stupid enough to approach him, he heard Aragorn cry something in Sindarin. The melodious language was unable to make it's way to Harry's ears and so he was unable to hear the exact words. He heard Aragorn crying again, and realised it was a matter of some urgency. As he turned to the source of the sound, an explosion struck the wall, blowing a hole in it. The hole was large enough to march through 10 abreast and signified a large enough breach to defeat the Rohirrim. Harry ran towards the breach, gathering some men as he did so, and as he stood at the edge of the breach he noticed that the ground directly below was flooded, however behind it, there was already a battle going on between the Uruk-hai and the Elves who had been killing the enemies throughout the night at long range. Harry turned to those he had gathered, and set the archers to simply fire as many arrows as they could at the Uruk-hai who were pouring through the breach at an alarming rate, will the swordsmen and other heavy infantry guarded them. Harry himself turned and leapt into the breach. He hit the water awkwardly, and floundered in it slightly, before he found his footing and began attacking the Uruk-hai around him, slowly making his way back towards the Elves, Aragorn and Gimli. It was difficult as he was being attacked from all sides, and was having increasing difficulty defending himself from an ever increasing number of foes.

Eventually, he found his way back to his allies, and was able to relax slightly. As he chopped off another Uruk-hai's head, he looked around to spot Legolas sliding down the steps on a shield, firing arrows as he went. The Elf reached the bottom of the steps and leapt of the shield, after manipulating it so that it hit an Uruk-hai in the neck. Haleth was running down after him. As Harry stood alongside the Elves and Aragorn, the fight became monotonous, slashing and hacking at everything in front of him, but for every Uruk-hai he killed, another two took it's place. As Harry killed another Uruk-hai with a well placed cutting curse, he heard Théoden shout, "Fall back to the keep! Harry, get your men out of there!"

Aragorn heard, and relayed the command to the elves as he and Harry fought side by side as they so often had in the past. As Aragorn blocked another wild slash, Harry killed the offender, before screaming, "Retreat!"

Beside him, he heard Aragorn shout in Sindarin, "Haldir! To the keep!" As they fought an air of desperation was descending upon the defenders of Helm's Deep, as more and more of the Rohirrim and Elves fell, and the Uruk-hai army seemed endless. As Harry looked up at Haldir, who was the commander of the Elves who had reinforced the Rohirrim, he saw him get hit by an Uruk-hai and fall to his knees, before killing his attacker. As Haldir was dazed by the blow, another Uruk-hai came up behind him, but before it could attack Haldir again, Harry summoned the Elf out of the way and sent a bludgeoner at the Uruk-hai. He caught the Elf who had flown towards him and asked, "Can you fight?" The Elf nodded and ran forward to attack more of the Uruk-hai. As Harry looked around, he saw Gimli being pulled back to the keep by Legolas and another Elf and, despite the massive battle that was occurring at the time, he smiled. He spotted Aragorn retreating back to the keep, and was about to join him when he saw that a section of the wall, where Harry had originally started to fight, was being overrun. He shouted for a number of the soldiers near him to join him as he charged at the wall. As he ran up the steps, he was confronted by an Uruk-hai, and as Harry blocked the attack, his enemy fell to the ground with an arrow through the neck. Turning, he spotted Legolas running towards him, bow in hand. Harry got to the top of the stairs, and banished an Uruk-hai nearby into the mass of enemies that were taking control of a portion of the wall, before sending a wide area bludgeoner at the group. He reached the Uruk-hai, and was immediately forced to sidestep an Uruk-hai that had leapt at him, although a slice with a hastily drawn dagger saw the Uruk-hai fall to the ground with a slit throat. As he pushed back the Uruk-hai, he heard someone shout, "The causeway! Look to the causeway!"

As Harry obeyed the command, he saw a battalion of Uruk-hai moving slowing up the causeway, protected by their shields. Obviously, they were preparing a transport for a battering ram to knock down the gate. As he was about to draw his wand to attack them, a group of Uruk-hai attacked him, and he was forced to twist and turn to avoid their strikes. One of the Uruk-hai fell dead at his feet to reveal Haleth behind him. Harry smiled before blocking an attack with his dagger, and another with his sword. As the two remaining enemies were concentrated on Harry, they failed to notice Haleth attacking them from behind. As the final Uruk-hai was dispatched, one sought to attack Haleth from behind, but a quick "Percutio." stopped him. Harry turned back to the causeway, were a battering ram was repeatedly attacking the gates, and appeared to have done some damage. Harry drew his wand, and commanded Haleth, "Cover me." before grabbing a few nearby archers and rushing closer to the causeway. As the archers began to fire, Harry spotted Aragorn poking his head around the corner of the wall, level with the causeway, before pulling his head out of sight. He quickly commanded the archers to begin firing at the mass of Uruk-hai as he thought, "Surely not even Aragorn would do that." However when Gimli landed on the causeway a second later, and Aragorn soon behind him, he realised that Aragorn would do that. Cursing, Harry leapt down to the causeway as well, a quick cushioning charm on the ground keeping him from any broken bones. Harry dispatched the few enemies that had survived Aragorn and Gimli and were lying in wait behind them, Aragorn and Gimli now trying to defend the causeway on their own. Harry moved forward to join them as they stood three abreast on the causeway, trying to hold back a never ending tide of Uruk-hai. All three were ducking, and weaving, and dodging, and blocking and fighting back as much as possible, however they were still being pushed back. As their backs were almost to the wall, Harry heard Théoden shout, "Aragorn, Harry, get out of there." before moving another piece of timber into place. It was only then that Harry realised they had been delaying the Uruk-hai so that the gates could be reinforced, and not for some other idiotic reason, however now Harry realised they had no escape plan.

"Aragorn." a cry from the wall caused the trio to look up to see Legolas throwing a rope down to them, obviously he meant to pull them up.

"You's two go." cried Harry. "I can get out on my own." Aragorn nodded to him, grabbed Gimli and leapt at the rope, leaving Harry to make his own escape, but Harry had other plans and instead rushed the Uruk-hai, and used their surprise to kill a number of them. As they surrounded him, Harry shouted, "Pyros." causing a massive burst of flame to come out of the wand Harry had just drawn. As the Uruk-hai directly surrounding Harry burnt to a crisp, Harry turned to the keep and ran at it. He put a foot onto the gate as though to push off in the other direction, and in the split second he was facing straight up, he fired a banished at the ground which sent him flying into the air.

He landed atop the gate seconds later, just beside Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas. Harry turned back to the causeway and quickly fired some of his arrows into the midst of bodies below. His attack was stopped when an Uruk-hai appeared beside him after coming up a new ladder, Harry nonchalantly kicked him off the wall, before rushing forward, attempting to cause as much destruction as he could to the forces of Saruman.

Harry looked around him, ladders were now being set on the walls, already loaded with Uruk-hai, archers were thinning the ranks of the defenders, and it seemed like Helm's Deep would fall for the first time in it's proud history. "The king has sent the command to fall back." Haleth had once again appeared beside Harry.

Harry picked up the call with the use of a sonorus charm, "Fall back." The magically enhanced voice reached all sections of the fortress, spreading the message quickly. Harry ran across a pathway that would bring him to the inner keep faster, although it wasn't really fortified, just a room with a thicker than normal door. The pathway was above the stairs behind the main gate, which had apparently fallen as the Uruk-hai army was pouring through it, while their brethren took control of the walls. Harry stopped for a second to concentrate, before screaming the incantation, "Pyros!" It sent down a massive burst of flames, that hit the ground and burned there momentarily, until enough Uruk-hai bodies had landed on it to put out the fire. It had managed to slow the endless tide of Uruk-hai though, which gave the Rohirrim time to get inside the inner room.

Harry ran through the thick doors of the inner sanctum, in which the horn of Helm Hammerhand resided. The doors were closed after him as the Uruk-hai were closing in, and had to be kept outside. Harry turned to the door, and hit it with a "Colloportus." With the locking charm in place, the door would resist more of the barrage the Uruk-hai were sure to inflict upon it. "Barricade the doors." He commanded the soldiers that had managed to make it inside. They immediately began to push chairs and tables against the door in an attempt to keep out the Uruk-hai for slightly longer. Harry looked around, there were maybe as few as 50 soldiers who were waiting in the chamber, only two of them Elves, Haldir and Legolas. Harry himself grabbed some of items around the room and walked into a corner of the room with them to work his magic.

"The fortress is taken. It is over." proclaimed Théoden.

"You said this fortress would never fall while your men defend it." rebuked Aragorn. "They still defend it, they have died defending it." Aragorn picked up a bench and handed it to Legolas to help barricade the doors. "Is there no other way for the women and children to get out of the caves?" After gaining no response, he repeated, "Is there no other way?"

Gamling, the king's remaining bodyguard, had been watching his king, who appeared unresponsive, but now turned to Aragorn. "There is one passage, it leads into the mountains. But they will not get far. The Uruk-hai are too many."

"Tell the women and children to make for the mountain pass." commanded Aragorn as he thrust Gamling towards the door to the women and children. "And barricade the entrance!"

"So much death." said Théoden solemnly. "What can men do against such reckless hate?"

"Ride out with me." challenged Aragorn. "Ride out and meet them." he proclaimed to his shocked audience.

"For death and glory." replied Théoden.

"For Rohan." answered Aragorn. "For your people.""The sun is rising." mentioned Gimli, causing Harry to remember something Gandalf had said.

_"With luck, I shall find Éomer." said Gandalf as he mounted Shadowfax. "Look to my coming at first light on the fifth day. At dawn, look to the east."_

"The dark is always strongest before the dawn." said Harry. "But then the sun shall rise, and conquer the darkness for another day."

"Yes." announced Théoden. "The horn of Helm Hammerhand shall sound in the Deep one last time. Let this be the hour that we draw swords together."

As Théoden finished his sentence, Gimli ran towards the horn of the Rohirrim hero, and climbed the pillar upon which it was laid, to blow it again. The deep booming of the horn echoed across the mountains, a final call of defiance against the waves of darkness that had come crashing down on them. Aragorn, Théoden and many of the soldiers mounted the horses that had been left in the stables, which were, thankfully, inside. As they came back to the room and lined up to face the door, they noticed Harry standing in the room, surrounded by a group of animals, some of which had never been seen before in Middle Earth.

"Why do you not join us?" asked Aragorn.

"As you leave the keep to charge at the Uruk-hai army, you will miss some. I will not leave the women and children unprotected. Those who are holding the gates, shall join me." replied Harry as he called the people he had named to his side. As Théoden delivered his pre-charge speech, Harry did the same to those who would remain behind.

"The army outside, beseeching us, is larger than any other to have attacked here. They have pushed us back to our innermost defences. They have chipped away at our army until so few remain. Now we strike back, now our riders will charge out and meet them. They will gain glory, and honour, and will meet their death, sword in hand. We remain behind. We will stand as the final defence of our women and children. When people speak of Rohan, they will speak of the way that the Rohirrim meet their end, that they meet it with pride, and dignity, that they are the way in which all men should meet everything in life. As I look at you now, I wonder what it is in men, that makes them so willing to fight, that they shall do so to their last breath. I look at you now, and I see, it is not fear of death that forces you to fight through injuries that would kill most men, it is not fear of the unknown, it is your heart. Even at the end, no man of Rohan can bear to see evil rule these lands, and they fight to the end, to destroy this evil. Now this evil waits outside our gates, wanting to destroy Rohan, destroy her lands, destroy her soldiers, destroy her women and children. I say to you, that as long as there is breath in our lungs, that evil shall not do so. I ask you now, who shall stand with me, to fight this evil to the bloody, bitter end?"

Harry's question finished with a bang, literally, as the doors to the outside were smashed open by the battering ram, which had managed to defeat Harry's locking charm, and the Uruk-hai began to pour inside.

"Forth Eorlingas!" shouted Théoden, before leading the charge outside. As the final rider charged outside, Harry screamed.

"Forward." His command was obeyed as the dozen men with him charged at the doors and began to fight the Uruk-hai in single combat. The narrow doors worked in the defenders favour as the Uruk-hai were forced to fight one on one, and their superior numbers didn't aid them. Their energy did, these Uruk-hai had been rested throughout the fight, and the Rohirric warriors had been fighting for close to 8 hours, and were showing their fatigue. As Harry ducked underneath an attack, he sent a command to the animals he had conjured, telling them to attack. The Uruk-hai were soon assaulted by lions, panthers, tigers, even hawks and a rhino, and although the veritable circus managed to push the Uruk-hai back momentarily, the Uruk-hai were soon attacking the animals as well. As each animal was slowly defeated, they transformed back into what they had been conjured from, which was generally cups and plates.

The zoo had managed to distract the Uruk-hai, allowing the defenders to exact a heavy toll upon the Uruk-hai, although when the animals were finally defeated, the Uruk-hai began to push back into the room again, killing some of the Rohan warriors. Harry was ducking, dodging and weaving the attacks, using wandless magic galore as he attempting to fill the breach single-handedly. As he chopped the head of yet another attacker, he quickly scanned the room. His small group were dying, they were meeting their deaths together, back to back or in groups of three as they made the Uruk-hai pay dearly, but they were meeting their deaths nonetheless. The Uruk-hai were attacking Harry from all sides now, and only decades of experience kept him alive. Somehow, Harry found himself in a group of three with Gimli and Haleth, slashing wildly as they attempted to prolong their final stand. As Harry looked around, he saw that the trio were the only ones left alive. Harry ducked under another attack, and stabbed the offender through the chest, before throwing a dagger at another Uruk-hai that sought to take it's place. Harry looked down, and cursed, that had been his last dagger. Beside him, Gimli stumbled away from another attack, even as Haleth fell to the ground through exhaustion. Harry looped off the head of another Uruk-hai, before drawing his wand for one final attack. "Fiendfyre!" he cried as he spun in a circle causing fire to circle around him. As he forced more and more of his remaining magical reserves into the attack, the fire began to coalesce into a dragon that swooped around the room, destroying Uruk-hai by the dozens. Weakly, he forced the dragon outside, and exploded it so that fire rained down upon the army that had been waiting there.

Harry looked around at the bodies of the Uruk-hai which were piled high around the corpses of those who had given their lives defending the keep. Harry limped towards the doors, and drew his bow as he did so. As he reached the doors, he nocked an arrow and aimed at some of the Uruk-hai who had been standing on the gates. Taking aim, he fired, before drawing another arrow and doing the same. He repeated this action as he tried to regain consciousness. As he reached back again to pull out another arrow, his hand grabbed air. A quick look back informed him he had no arrows left, and so, with a quiet curse, Harry drew his sword and wand to wait for any Uruk-hai that came. Gimli joined him soon after. "The kid should be fine, he's just tired. If he can get medical attention soon, he'll be right as rain."

Harry smiled, before falling to his knees. The night, plus the journey before hand, had tired him and the little sleep he had gotten had only delayed the inevitable. Now, he was exhausted as he realised pure adrenaline was the only reason he was still conscious. To the side, he heard the sound of a sword being drawn, and he forced himself to his feet, sword held proudly in front of him as he turned to face what he assumed was yet another Uruk-hai. Instead, he saw only Éomer and realised help had come. Smiling, Harry allowed himself to fall into the sweet bless of unconsciousness.

**That is the longest chapter I have ever written, and it took me over 5 hours altogether. Yes, I am looking sympathy. Anyway, please review this chapter which I tried to change from just a long drawn out battle. Also, read my other stories. Thank you. By the way, total word count is 6070.**


	19. Chapter 19

Hey all, this is Wormyrug.

I have very bad news, I was in a car crash recently and broke my left arm in three places, which means no more updates for a while. Sorry.

But would anyone mind looking at my friends band, the culnafay folkestra:

Add this to the basic you tube website /user/ClaraTheGreater


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